Fate, Frayed Rope, and (Gay) Feelings
by RWBY Order
Summary: A small twist of fate (thanks to a large un-twist of rope), leads to the total destruction of Weiss's bed, a long night of awkwardness, and a weekend of discovery and suprises for the Red and White duo of Team RWBY.
1. What the Fuck Happened To My Bed?

**A/N**

 **Hey guys, here, with this thing I've been writing for the past month. Special thanks to my cousin and writing partner Alisa, who helped me plan out this chapter of** _ **Fate, Frayed Rope, and (Gay) Feelings.**_ **If all goes to plan, this will have three to four chapters. Also, do not expect quick updates, as I have a lot going on. Hopefully, a new chapter will be out within a month or so. Review, give me advice, and I hope you enjoy. Also, shameless advertisement, if you have iFunny, subscribe to the account "RWBY_Order_Of_The_OTP". It's a cult I have on there, devoted to the longevity of Team RWBY Ships.**

 **Enjoy!**

Chapter 1: What the _Fuck_ Happened to My Bed?!

All was quiet in Team RWBY's dorm. Ruby was sitting on her bed, humming along to a song playing over her headphones as she scribbled down ideas for a few modifications to her beloved weapon. Nothing _too_ major, just little things to boost the efficiency of herself during combat. The song playing soon ended, and Ruby took that as her queue to take a short break. She lowered her headphones while glancing at her scroll, taking note of the time.

 _9:25! Wow, I wonder how_ long _Blake and Yang are gonna stay out…_

It was a bit odd, at first, what with her sister going out with her teammate, but over the past month, the team leader had more than gotten used to it. With that thought, Ruby looked over to the only other occupant in the room. Weiss sat at the team's desk, taking down some notes. Due to the time, the two had already changed into their respective sleepwear, and Weiss had let her hair down.

The only noise in the room was the quiet sound of pencil-on-paper, as Ruby looked down at her partner, and more specifically her platinum hair that was cascading down her back.

 _Weiss's hair is really pretty when she lets it down…_

Ruby traced the path of Weiss's hair down her back, and then back up. Taking note of everything, how her hair seemed to flow like a waterfall, how far it went down her back, the way it shifted whenever Weiss moved, how it connected to her head, her beautiful blue eyes…

 _Her eyes?_

In her damn-near trance, Ruby hadn't noticed that the sounds of writing had ceased. Ruby snapped her head forward, feeling heat rise to her ears at having been caught. The previously peaceful silence was now noticeably awkward. Weiss gave a small cough, gaining Ruby's attention once more, before announcing, "I am going to the restroom."

Ruby waited for the sound of the door to the adjacent bathroom closing before flopping backwards on her pillows, rubbing her hands over her face and groaning.

 _Damn it, why do I have to like WEISS of all people! It couldn't have been, I dunno, Jaune or something. Actually, ew, no._

Banishing the thought of the clumsy blonde boy from her mind, Ruby's mind was brought back to her crush. The one person that would never work out. It was simply not possible. Weiss was rich, of high social standing. She was even slightly famous from her relatively small singing career.

 _I mean, being gay is practically the worst thing that could happen to someone like her, right?_

Social controversy and less-than-heterosexual thoughts aside, Ruby's head lolled to the side, eyeing one of the few ropes the suspended her bed in the air.

 _Does that one seem more frayed than usual?_

That was Ruby's last thought before a _SNAP_ rang out, and the bed dropped five feet onto the one below. She felt as much as heard the crunch of wood underneath her, before her head smacked into the headboard. As the world faded to black, the last thing she heard was a shrill cry of, "What the _Fuck_ happened to my bed?!"

Weiss sighed as she stood in front of the mirror in the team's bathroom, running her hand through her hair. She had fled in here just seconds before, when a break from her studying and a cursory glance around the dorm revealed her partner staring at her from her own bed.

 _Was she…checking me out?_

No, that wasn't possible. Ruby wasn't the kind of person to just…eye her up like that. There must have been some other reason. There was definitely _something_ in Ruby's eyes that Weiss saw briefly, before it was overwhelmed her evident embarrassment.

Weiss couldn't decipher how exactly she felt about this. Anyone else she would've caught like that wouldn't have survived long enough to apologize. Doubtlessly, she liked her partner, as she was arguably her Best Friend. Perhaps that is what stayed her hand.

Regardless, further contemplation was interrupted by the deafening crash that came from the dormroom. Weiss rushed from the bathroom, hand unconsciously reaching for Myrtenaster, which wasn't at her hip due to her state of dress, and took in the scene that awaited her. Ruby ways still on her bed, but her bed seemed to also be atop what appeared to be two halves of what used to be Weiss's bed.

"What the _Fuck_ Happened to my bed?!"

Regardless of the dirty feeling in her mouth from the uncharacteristically vulgar language, she felt that her reaction was justified. Her attention moved from the remains of her bed to Ruby's intact bed and, more importantly, her partner who was lying motionless on top of it.

Concern drove Weiss to her partner's side. "I swear, if you somehow managed to die from this…" Weiss said worriedly, cupping her hands around Ruby's head, feeling around for any blood and/or fractures, and finding none. She quickly moved her head down to Ruby's chest, pressing her ear to the center and listening.

She let out a relieved sigh as she heard her friend's heartbeat and stable breathing. The tension slowly leaked from her shoulders, and she let her head rest where it was, now assured that her unconscious team leader was not seriously injured. Her eyes closed.

Only to open once more as that slow breathing and steady heartbeat that she had been listening to changed. The heartbeat sped up considerably, and a single, deep breath interrupted Ruby's breathing.

"Weiss…what exactly are you doing down there…?"

Ruby let out an inaudible groan as she came into consciousness. Her head was pounding, and the epicenter seemed to be at the base of her skull.

 _Uh…what happened?_

A series of images and emotions flashed through her mind, seeming relatively related to each other. Hair, embarrassment, questions of sexuality, a rope, falling (both physically and metaphorically).

 _Oh, yeah…the bed fell. Ah, crap…_

She began to open her eyes, wary of the headache still ringing through her head. Feeling an odd weight on her chest, the first placed she looked was down. The pain was all but forgotten as she saw Weiss on the bed with her, Weiss's head resting on her chest. Heat rose to Ruby's face as she became painfully aware of the fact that she had taken off her bra when she changed into her pajamas.

 _OhGodOhGodOhGodOhGod what is happening!_

Her heart was pounding, and she took an involuntary deep breath. She spoke as she let out the breath, her voice sounding an octave too high. "Weiss…what exactly are you doing down there…?"

She felt Weiss immediately stiffen for a moment before firing off of Ruby's bed like a bullet from a gun. Now a solid five feet away from Ruby, Weiss glared at her, red faced, and said, "My partner was unconscious on top of the wreckage of what USED to be my bed! I was simply checking your vitals!"

Ruby, equally embarrassed, sat up and replied, "Really, because you seemed pretty comfortable nuzzling up to my chest!" She honestly wasn't angry, but was more so grasping at straws in an embarrassed panic.

Weiss, only growing more flustered at the comment said, "Well, at least I wasn't ogling at my teammate!" At that Ruby looked away, her face only heating further as she gripped that covers of the bed and fell silent.

Weiss frowned slightly as Ruby quieted down. As cute as she looked blushing like that, her leader looked very uncomfortable, and that was something Weiss couldn't just let happen.

 _Wait…cute?_

Deciding it was probably better not to chase that particular rabbit at the moment, the white-haired girl searched for a change of subject. She did not have to look far. "So, why, exactly, is my bed in three different parts?"

That seemed to pull Ruby out of her embarrassed stupor. "Oh, uh, yeah. That…" she stuttered out, silently thanking her white-haired crush for the subject change. "I'm not sure, exactly, but I think my bed…uh…fell…" Ruby only realized how incredibly redundant her statement was halfway through saying it. Either way, there wasn't much else for her to say.

Sarcasm was heavy in Weiss's voice as she said, "You don't say? _I_ could've told you that, dolt. I suppose it was bound to fall eventually." She sighed as Ruby extracted herself from the wreckage and stood next to Weiss.

"Well, what do we do now?" Ruby said, looking at the former bunk bed, grasping through her mind blindly for ideas.

Another sigh came from Weiss, pinching the bridge of her nose as she felt a headache coming on. "I'll go call the Requisition's office," she said, turning to walk to the desk before remembering something. "…My scroll was on my bed…" Weiss deadpanned. Ruby's only reaction was a sharp inhale.

Ruby spun around and grabbed her own scroll from the bed that was currently in one piece before tossing it to Weiss. The white-haired girl caught it, before opening it, only to see a lock screen. "Ruby, I need your password." Ruby, who had taken to trying to shift her bed off of the remains of the other bed, stopped what she had been doing as heat rose to her ears.

 _Oh, Crap._

"Just…hand it to me…I'll type it in," she said haltingly, reaching her hand back to grab the phone-tablet hybrid. She felt no small amount of relief as Weiss gave her the scroll without a fuss.

Ruby had added this password as a personal joke at first, and simply never changed it. It wasn't serious, or at least that's what she told herself as her fingers passed over the keyboard, inputting the required letters.

 _R…u…b…y…S…c…h…n…e…e…_

The scroll beeped as it unlocked, and Ruby handed it back to Weiss, refusing to look at her, and making a mental note to change her password later. Ruby once more locked her fingers under the footboard of the bed, her muscles straining as she began to lift the bed. Weiss's quiet conversation with the Requisitions Office went on behind Ruby as her side of the heavy wooden bed lifted a foot off the ground.

Thanks to her weapon, and the weight it held, Ruby could indeed lift more than the average weight. Given, not as much as her Sister, but still. She began rotating the Bed so that this end would rest off of the wooden rubble. After setting it down gently, she moved to the headboard and repeated the process. As she was about to lower the bed, however, a sudden, shrill noise startled her, and she lost her grip. Her aura surged to her foot, protected the extremity from being seriously injured as the foot of the bed slammed onto her foot. Nevertheless, it hurt.

And boy, did it _hurt._

She hissed as she clutched her left foot, falling on her butt. Only then did she process what exactly what that's sound was.

A shrill cry of, "What do you mean, you _can't_?!"

"What do you mean, you _can't?!"_

"I'm sorry, Miss Schnee, but we just cannot get you a bed today. The office is in the process of closing, and most everyone has left," said the filtered voice of the man on the other end of the call, almost audibly wincing at the loud slam and cry of pain heard in the background.

"We don't have enough beds for the night, so what are we supposed to do?" said Weiss. Her voice was still an octave and sound level too high to be considered polite, but she felt she was justified in her annoyance.

The Requisitions Officer now sounded slightly angry, "Look, I don't know, share a bed or something, I don't care, but we can't help you right now. Call again tomorrow." Weiss opened her mouth to retort, but was quieted by the call disconnected tone.

"Share a bed…" she said mockingly, seething. She was, however, pulled from her silent fury by the quiet, repeating mutters of "ow" coming from the recently relocated bed. Seeing Ruby sitting on the floor, rocking back and forth, cradling her foot on the floor, and recalling the slam that was the result of her shout, Weiss rushed over to her partner. She dropped to her knees next to her friend, and said worriedly, "What happened? Are you hurt?"

Ruby shook her head, before saying, "No, no, my aura blocked it, but man, it hurts!" She clenched her teeth, rubbing at the sore spot on her foot as Weiss calmed down. Weiss the reached out, pushing Ruby's hand away, and holding both her hands lightly touching Ruby's foot. She then focused her own significantly cooler aura onto the forming bruise.

The partial-redhead sighed as the pain began to lessen in her foot. A single stray thought passed through her head then, that more or less killed the moment for her.

 _Thank goodness I don't have a foot fetish._

 _…_

 _Damn it, Brain._

Seeking to get her mind off of that particular path, Ruby began to speak once more, "Man, I am getting beat up by this bed today." Taking her slightly sarcastic comment as a sign that she was feeling better, Weiss retracted her hands from the younger girl. Ruby didn't let this deter her as she said, "So, I take it we aren't getting a replacement for tonight? Ya know, because of all the yelling."

Weiss winced ever so slightly at that. For some reason, she felt generally sorry that she inadvertently caused Ruby to smash her foot, which she articulated with, "No, we aren't. The office is closed for the night, so I'll call them tomorrow. And I'm…sorry…for yelling and making you hurt yourself."

Ruby's brows furrowed at that. Weiss wasn't the type to apologize for something that she didn't explicitly cause. Strange. "That's…alright. You didn't mean it," the statement came out sounding more like a question than anything, as Ruby wasn't used to having these kinds of conversations with Weiss of all people.

Looking for something to call Weiss's attention to that wasn't Ruby, she looked back to the metaphorical elephant in the room. "So…what are we gonna do about that?" Ruby said, nodding towards her own bed.

"Well either we make a pallet on the floor out of the blankets from my bed, or we share yours," Weiss said, her voice quieting down slightly as she said option two.

Ruby's heart jumped at that. In the rush of pain and confusion that had been this night, she hadn't considered the fact that she may have to share a bed with Weiss. That would be bad. That would be very bad. "Yeah, let's get the blankets…" Ruby said.

They both got off the floor, and went to pull some blankets from the wreckage. A bump in the road, or rather, a fairly large barricade, was quickly reveled. It was with no small amount of dread that Ruby looked at the mess of wood and springs that had speared through the sheets and blankets. Her salvation from the embarrassment and frustration that would be sharing a bed with Weiss had been reduced to what could hardly be considered scraps of cloth, let alone blankets.

 _Well, crap._

"Hehe," Ruby chuckled humorlessly, turning to her partner and rubbing the back of her neck nervously, "You know what, it's my fault the bed fell, so you can have the bed. I'll just grab my pillow and sleep on the floor." It was a cheap excuse, a temporary fix for the problem. But it would suffice.

Weiss's brows furrowed at that. She wasn't exactly sure _why_ , but the thought of Ruby sleeping on the cold floor alone seemed…appalling to say the least. That wasn't to say Weiss's wouldn't have cared if her partner spent the night on the floor under normal circumstances, but usually the idea wouldn't seem so…wrong. "Ruby," Weiss began, "I am not going to just take your bed from you because of a mistake. I'm not heartless. Besides, we enter the Vytal Festival Tournament in a week. We cannot risk someone getting sick at a time like this." The last part had only just occurred to Weiss, and was nothing more than a cheap rationalization that she had produced on the fly.

Now, as to why Weiss felt the need make the statement seem practical was still up for debate.

Ruby felt fear, like a cold, lead weight, settle inside of her. Weiss had a point. Searching her mind for some way, _any_ way, to avoid having to share a bed with her crush-that-couldn't-be. She could find none. With an inaudible sigh, Ruby said, "Well then, I guess we are sharing for the night."

It wasn't to say Ruby didn't _want_ to share a bed with Weiss (as it was actually a fairly common fantasy for her to have), but rather it would be a cruel twist of fate. She had resigned herself soon after she realized her attraction to the white-haired girl to the fact that Weiss simply could not reciprocate her feelings. Her place in society simply would not allow it, and, seeing as how she grew up in high society, it would be extremely difficult for Weiss to abandon that, even if she did somehow have feelings for Ruby. And Ruby couldn't bring herself to put her through that.

They both turned back to their newly-shared bed, inaudibly deciding they may as well get settled. They had taken two steps toward the unnecessarily imposing piece of furniture when the door opened. Yang walked into the room first, shortly followed by her girlfriend. The new duo took in the scene in the room: The mangled bed, the scratches on the floor that Ruby had left when she moved her bed, the frayed and broken rope dangling from the roof, and on top of it all, the Red and White pair staring forlornly at their remaining bed and standing shoulder-to-shoulder.

"I'm…" Yang paused, taking a moment to inhale, "I'm not even going to ask." Blake seemed to agree, if the grimace and nod was anything to go by. It was a short affair for Yang and Blake to prepare for bed, and then they were all settling down.

Ruby climbed in bed first, wiggling under the covers, looking up at Weiss and lifting up part of the blanket invitingly. The image before her stirred something deep inside the older girl that she promptly ignored. Regardless, a single word wormed its way to the forefront of her mind at the sight of her young, wide-eyed partner looking up at her and offering a spot in her bed.

 _Cute_.

There's that rabbit again.

Regardless of vague allusions to old literature, Weiss crawled into bed beside Ruby. Lying down next to her, the first think she noticed was the warmth. Due to her naturally frigid aura, Weiss's body temperature was just a few degrees lower than normal. It was because of this that typically Weiss's bed never really warmed up, instead remaining cold. She had gotten used to it long ago, but now…

Now, she was lying under the covers beside Ruby, and despite both of them being as far as possible from each other on the tiny bed and lying stiff and straight as boards, Weiss was surrounded by an alien warmth. It was not an uncomfortable heat, like she was used to receiving from anything at a higher temperature than herself, but rather a soft warmth, the kind you snuggle up to when cold.

Weiss eyes snapped open as she connected the dots of "Ruby", "Warm", and "Snuggle". She thanked the fact that Ruby couldn't see her face at the moment as she silently burned. The pair lay stiffly on the bed for what felt like hours until it was apparent that the other two had fallen asleep.

It was then that Ruby spoke up, hushed and whispering, "Hey, Weiss, you…uh…awake?" she inwardly winced at just how awkward that sounded.

"Of course I'm awake, you dolt!" Weiss said, rather scathingly. She sighed at her own tone, frustrated with herself. "Sorry, I'm just…kind of uncomfortable," she said, turning to look at her partner, seeing a pair of understanding silver eyes staring back at her. "I'm not used to being this close to someone for an extended period of time."

Ruby nodded at this, and said, "Yeah, I think I can understand that," it wasn't like she herself was in any better shape at the moment. It was an odd feeling, being in her position. On one hand, she was where she constantly fantasized herself being, in bed with Weiss, sharing warmth on a cold night. On the other, this was about as far as she was ever going to get: lying there like a plank next to her depressingly heterosexual partner.

 _Hey, this isn't so bad; just keep thinking positive thoughts, Ruby. At least it can't get any worse…_

What famous last words.

Weiss sighed, tilting her head up towards the ceiling, and closing her eyes once more. She was allowing herself a measure of relaxation, as the goal of tonight was indeed to fall asleep. Ruby, hearing the ice queen's sigh, turned her head to look at her partner.

Oh, what a horrible, wonderful mistake she had just made.

Weiss was lying back on the bed, a single shaft of moonlight spilled across her serine face, even as Ruby's eyes absorbed the sight, and smothering herself in it. She felt like a man who was dying of thirst, and then suddenly was drowning. In that moment, her eyes caught everything. The way that the pure moonlight reflected off of Weiss's already pale skin, making it appear as if it consisted of porcelain. How her skin was just so flawless and smooth, but still sharp and intelligent. That harsh scar crossing over her left eye and contrasting sharply with her otherwise marble skin, yet seemed to, if anything, only add to the Atleasian's beauty. Weiss's hair, so carelessly splayed out on the pillow her head was resting on, like a thousand little rivers of pure silver. Her thin lips that could very easily distract Ruby for long enough in their movements that Ruby wouldn't even realize she was being reprimanded. The faint pink that colored Weiss's cheeks, almost invisible in the pale moonlight. The way the moonbeams glinted off those deep pools of ice-blue. She looked like an Angel that had fallen from heaven, only to be frozen in a glacier, and Ruby was the only one there to thaw her out-

Wait, those were her eyes again, weren't they? Time, evidentially, hadn't really frozen as it had appeared to, and now here she was.

 _Note to Self: Add 'Space Time Continuum' to list of mortal enemies._

And now here they stood again, Silver staring into Blue, and Blue staring right back.

Ruby felt no small amount of shame as she was caught for the second time in a few hours admiring her partner. The air between them became, impossibly, even more awkward than it had been before. Ruby didn't know what was worse, her embarrassment, or the fact that Weiss had absolutely no reaction aside from staring at Ruby.

When Ruby simply couldn't look at her any longer, she rolled over with a quiet, "Sorry." Or, at least, she tried to roll over. Halfway through the action, as thin, pale hand caught her shoulder, forcing her gently back, so they were once again facing each other.

"Ruby," Weiss began, "You aren't in trouble. Although I'm not sure _why_ exactly you of all people keep doing that, but I'm not…mad at you for it," her tone was soft, if slightly confused.

No small amount of relief washed through the younger girl at this, and she cling to it. It did very little for her embarrassment, but she could feel the guilt ebbing away.

"But, if you don't mind me asking, why do you keep staring at me?"

And there that little bit of relief went.

Ruby's heart was in her throat as fear filled her. She couldn't just ignore the question, and just laying here quietly would only serve to make her look even guiltier. Her face was on fire, the color of her cheeks putting even her cloak to shame. With her blood seemingly consisting of a mix of lava and adrenaline, Ruby forced out the first few words that came to her mind, "You're very pretty, Weiss." Her voice was quiet, yet almost an octave to high, even for her.

Her eyes were closed tightly, and her hands were clenched in fists, curling the blanket in her hands. She couldn't bring herself to look at Weiss, finding the ceiling much more entertaining at the moment, but if she would have, she would've seen a pair of wide blue eyes staring at her, and cheeks that rivaled her own in redness.

Feeling the need to say _something_ in that moment, Weiss opened her mouth, a simple, "Oh," tumbled out. Seeing Ruby lying there, flush covering her cheeks, and oh so bashful, was sending several mixed emotions through the heiress.

 _My Oum, she's adorable._

However impossible it may be, Weiss's eyes widened further at this revelation. She decided to try and speak yet again, only for a useless "Uh," to form.

 _Damn these emotions._

Ruby had given her a compliment. Her training had taught her that she aught to give her one in turn. If only she could produce more that single syllable noises at the moment. Steeling herself, she forced her self to say something useful, dignified, and fitting for the Heiress to a multi-billion Lien corporation. The words that came out, however, were, "T-thanks…Ruby. You…are really cute…sometimes…"

The awkward half-complement only served to draw Ruby's shocked attention to Weiss, and make Ruby honestly fear that her face would spontaneously combust. Unable to form any semblance of a verbal response, Ruby opted instead to slide her hand slowly beneath the covers, feeling for Weiss's. Once she found the slender, cool hand, she wrapped her fingers around it, giving a thankful squeeze.

The team-leader was more than slightly worried that Weiss would have a negative reaction to this, but was pleasantly surprised when Weiss flipped her had underneath Ruby's, so that they were palm to palm, and interlaced their fingers.

Weiss couldn't help but recall the long nights that she had spent trying to fall asleep in that big, empty room in her family's manor. Time spent lying in that cold, empty bed…but now, it was different. It seemed as if all the warmth Ruby always exuded was flowing into Weiss through that connection with their hands, and that same comforting warmth that was just so _Ruby_ surrounding her under the blanket. It was truly _blissful._

Their hands parted a few minutes later, with a mutual "Goodnight" coming from the two partners. They rolled to face opposite sides of the bed, and Weiss simply lie there, contemplating the complex cocktail of emotions that had been her subconscious for the past few hours, and listening to the calming breath of her innocent partner, which slowed down as Ruby began to fall asleep.

All thoughts, however, halted as the now asleep Ruby Rose rolled over and…

 _…cuddled into her back._

It was true. The arm thrown over her hip, and the soft, hot breaths hitting the back of her neck proved that. Under any other circumstance, Weiss would've stood her ground, woken Ruby up, and enforced her personal space. And she almost did. There was only one reason that she didn't.

It felt absolutely wonderful.

The way Ruby seemed to fit perfectly against her back, their legs brushing together, her breath on her neck, how Weiss could ever-so-slightly feel the thumping of her partner's heart against her own back, and she was so, so _warm_.

 _I mean, it's not like anyone will know that I just allowed her to stay like this. I'll just say it happened while I was asleep._

And with her actions, or lack thereof, sufficiently justified, Weiss settled down, snuggling slightly backwards into Ruby's embrace, and closed her eyes, surrounded in the scent of the Redhead. On most nights, she didn't dream, just an endless sea of black. On bad ones, she had horrid nightmares, waking her in the dead of night, soaked in a cold sweat. On a good night, she simply awoke feeling energized, but never did she ever dream of anything other than that calming expanse of black and gray.

That night, Weiss Schnee dreamt of Strawberries and Rose Petals.

 **Epilogue**

Weiss inaudibly groaned as she began to fade back into consciousness. Although at the moment, in the haze of sleep, she didn't know why, but she really, _really_ wanted to sleep in that day. Maybe it was because of the fact that she felt so incredibly warm under the covers, or the fact that her pillow seemed hundreds of times softer than usual, or maybe it was the slow pulsations of the pillow repeating every few seconds.

Maybe, just maybe, it was the hand tangled in her hair, or the legs tanged with hers. In that moment, she was simply to comfortable to care, thoughtlessly snuggling closer to the source of warmth and the two soft, soft objects that her head was resting on, closing her eyes tightly and futilely holding onto the last dredges of sleep.

She might have succeeded if that incessant clicking wasn't going on.

Regardless, sleep was slipping through her fingers, and she began waking up in earnest. A yawn slipped through her lips as she stretched and recalled the remarkably pleasant dream she had, even though the memory was nothing more than a vague feeling of butterflies in her stomach and an all-consuming feeling of utter happiness at this point. It was the best night sleep she had in a long time. She was nothing but pure bliss at the moment.

And then, to her utter horror, she opened her eyes.

To the tune of a faint clicking noise, Weiss realized what was happening. Evidentially, in her sleep, the Heiress had rolled over, and…and…

 _Oh, dear lord, was I_ cuddling _Ruby's chest in my sleep?!_

Sure enough, the soft objects that had replaced her pillow were indeed her partner's breasts. In fact, it went even further than that, as they were all tangled up together. Their legs were intertwined, arms around each other, and Ruby's head rested atop the mortified 17-year-old's. The situation only further deteriorated for the furiously blushing Heiress as Ruby pulled her even closer, still entirely asleep, and dreamily mumbled, "Mmmmm, Weiss…"

 _This can't get any worse. Or…better?_

 _I don't even know anymore._

That belief, however, was swiftly crushed as she rolled over, deciding to investigate the clicking that had been going on since she woke. It was funny how quickly one can go from furiously blushing to simply furious as Weiss beheld the camera of a Scroll being pointed at her by none other than…

"YANG XIAO LONG!"

Needless to say, Ruby awoke soon thereafter, and after a few minutes of fighting between Ruby and Weiss versus Yang, several cries of "Help" and "Why hast thou forsaken me?" sent by the blonde to her Girlfriend, who was ignoring the situation, and one hastily fired .50 caliber round straight from the muzzle of Crescent Rose, one scroll was added to the short list of things they would have to get replaced by the Requisitions Office.


	2. Dreams

**A/N**

 **I never expected such a nice response to this. Thanks a lot to everyone who favorited, followed, or reviewed. Also, to address some issues with Chapter 1, I realize now that it is "Epilogue" not "Prologue", it was a typo, and on the topic of perspective changes, this isn't meant for any particular perspective, and with my writing style the smooth perspective switches (without line breaks) are unavoidable, but I will avoid them as best I can.**

 **Please enjoy chapter two!**

Chapter 2: Dreams

Weiss sighed as she looked down at her notes sheet. She was sitting in Professor Port's class, listening to what was supposed to be a lecture on the different forms of airborne Grimm, but had quickly dissolved into some story of the mustachioed man's triumph over a giant Nevermore that he claimed to have defeated with his bare hands.

 _How…unprofessional._

Not that she didn't have the utmost respect for the Professor, as he was a veteran Huntsman and had given her some very useful advice early on in the year, but it was a bit ridiculous when she had been listening for forty-five minutes and only had about half a paragraph of useful information.

Thankfully, it was only an hour-long class, so she didn't have much more time listening to the extended hyperbole that was Port's recount of the fight. Realizing that her Professor planned to prattle on for the rest of the time, she cast her gaze around the room, searching for something for her to spend her valuable time on that might actually be useful.

Her eyes passed over seemingly everything in the room, from the desk Port was standing in front of, to the bookshelf against the wall, loaded up with Grimm Studies textbooks that they rarely ever used, to the Taxidermist's representation of a rather large Boarbatusk that Port had 'evidentially' slain, with the name "Edgar" shown in Brass underneath it, and finally, to the girl sitting just a few feet to her left.

Weiss felt her cheeks begin to heat up as she remembers the events that transpired the previous day, and, more embarrassingly, how they had woken up. She had unconsciously _cuddled_ with the younger girl. She couldn't really blame herself though, after all, Ruby was just so warm and soft and _cut-_

Weiss sighed once more. Thoughts like those had been plaguing her all morning, and for the life of her she couldn't figure out _why_. Regardless, even with the embarrassment of being caught in such a position as the two were by none other than Yang, Weiss had woken up incredibly energized. It was the best sleep she'd had in a long, long time. If the bullet hole in the wall of the dorm was anything to go by, Ruby was equally as rested. Although, at the moment, it wasn't showing.

Ruby was sitting next to her, a notebook set up of front of her in such a way to hide her face from the Professor, not that he was looking, and was resting her head on her folded arms. She was facing Weiss, and so the white-haired heiress could plainly see that Ruby was fast asleep. Weiss felt annoyance begin to surge up from the depths of her subconscious, but it never seemed to surface as it usually would. Instead, it just kind of petered off.

 _Well that's…peculiar…_

Her partner was sleeping in class! It was unprofessional, and, as a Leader, she should be leading by example, not acting so immature! She was, however unintentionally, disrespecting the teacher, her superior! Every bit of training in etiquette and respect was screaming at Weiss to do something. Wake the younger girl up, berate her, and set her back on the straight and narrow, and any other time she would.

Now, though, as she looked at her partner's peacefully sleeping face, she found that she simply couldn't bring herself to do it.

It seemed almost a crime to disturb the serene look on the younger girl's face. Not only that, but she couldn't even bring herself to feel even a little peeved.

 _This is totally ridiculous! I will not allow this. She is my team leader, and it is horridly unprofessional for her to be sleeping in class!_

She once more felt annoyance rising up, and this time with the intent to explode outward. As the anger that the incredibly self-frustrated heiress was forcing into herself began to build higher and higher, Weiss was preparing the lecture of a lifetime.

…Only for all her efforts to be for naught as Ruby simply let out a little noise, somewhere between a snore and a coo, that shot down her fury like a Nevermore over an Atleasian Anti-Air Emplacement.

 _Oh, good lord, that was adorable. Uh, what am I thinking?! This is absolutely absurd. Ruby does so much that sets me off, why is this any different? I mean, she is distracted during class, is a bad example when it comes to studying, her diet is ridiculous, she always stuffs her face with food to the point that her cheeks puff out, no, wait, that's actually pretty cute._

 _Damn it all I did it again!_

The Heiress was frustrated, and rightfully so. She simply could not fathom where all this was coming from, why whenever she thought of her partner now, her mind wandered to the most nonsensical of things, like her smile, her body temperature, the way she laughs, and that annoying feeling in the pit of her stomach whenever she remembered how good it felt to be tangled up with Ruby in bed.

She almost shoved that final thought away, but then something occurred to her.

 _Wait, no, if these strange thoughts and feelings keep coming to the forefront of my mind, there must be a reason. Come on, Weiss, you are the top of your class. You can figure out your_ feelings _for goodness sake. Just…analyze the situation._

They seemed to have first started appearing in force this morning, but she had had a few stray thoughts over the past few months. Nothing serious or consuming, but definitely there, and only about Ruby. She couldn't remember ever feeling like this, or thinking thoughts like these, in any other circumstance. She had also noticed that Ruby didn't seem quite as aggravating. What was happening now in class just seemed as another evolution of that tolerance. Another fact of note was that many things that served to annoy Weiss about Ruby now seemed more endearing than anything.

 _Ok, well that is definitely how I feel. Now to figure out what exactly these feelings are and what they mean._

She then began to cross-reference the information she had just gathered with things that she had learned from and heard of in books, movies, and her own understanding of emotional matters.

 _Alright, so, symptoms… odd, obsessive thoughts about Ruby, an odd urge to be close too her, that weird fluttering feeling, higher tolerance for her antics, and noticing things I've never seen before. It's not just friendship, because I feel that for Blake and Yang, most of the time. It's not just the partnership that I feel for her, as I have felt that for the longest time._

It was incredibly frustrating for the seventeen year old. The things that had always annoyed her about her other friends, Jaune's idiotic advances and thick-skulledness toward Pyrrha, Nora and Yang's constantly being obnoxious, Blake's poorly hidden stash of smutty romance novels she barely bothered to be subtle about, still annoyed her just as much as they always have, yet, with Ruby, those childish, immature things had slowly changed characteristics in her mind. Over the course of the last few months, they had gone from infuriating to endearing. Repulsive to…

… _Attractive?_

Wait, no, that was preposterous. She couldn't possibly be feeling… _attracted…_ to her younger partner, could she? No, no, _no!_ Not possible. They were both girls, Weiss was two years older than Ruby, there was no way Ruby liked her back, and there was no way her father would ever even consider considering that she would be allowed into such a relationship, and the fact that…

… _I am_ **NOT** _gay!_

However, the feelings were there, and with this new (im)possibility in her head, she began to compare how she was feeling toward Ruby to everything she knew of romance from various novels and movies. To her horror, everything slowly started to match up.

 _Oh my God…do I have a crush on Ru-_

 **BRRRRIIIING!**

Weiss's head snapped up from where she had been staring wide-eyed at the desk at the sound of the bell. Professor Port seemed just as startled, as he froze in the position of holding both hands above his head, as if he was about to initiate some kind of chopping motion. She sat still in her desk for a while longer, simply trying to work through the maelstrom of thoughts filling her head. At least, she was until a soft, warm hand found its way onto her shoulder, belonging to the cause of all her confusion.

"Hey, Weiss, you feeling alright?" the redhead said, concerned, "You've been staring kinda hard at your notes, and I think you're starting to freeze them." Weiss couldn't help but roll her eyes at her friend's attempt at a joke.

With anyone else, or even at any point in the past, Weiss would've been beyond angry at someone for the remark about her frigid personality, but found that, infuriatingly, the sheer amount if innocence in the way Ruby said the words cooled her rage. She pushed her thoughts of emotional matters out of her head, saying, "Yes, Ruby, I'm fine. Just…just thinking is all." The turmoil in her head seemed to disappear, the cacophony of thoughts fading into background noise with the arrival of her friend. Ruby, however, still looked uneasy.

Weis stood, noticing now that everyone had left the classroom except for herself and Ruby. As she packed her things, a thought occurred to her.

 _Those thoughts were tearing me apart, but all it took for them to become null and void was Ruby. She has really changed me. The others have too, but Ruby was the catalyst for it all. She's done so much for me…_

She finished packing, slinging her bag over her shoulder, and locked eyes with Ruby in the empty classroom. Those wide, innocent, beautiful silver eyes…

 _…and she doesn't even realize it._

She was overcome with an urge at that moment. A vague, stray thought sought to justify her actions said something along the lines of "disproving or proving her hypothesis", as she took a step towards her partner and tentatively laying a single hand on Ruby's shoulder, not able to do anything more. Ruby stared into her eyes, and she stared back, nonverbally asking Ruby to do what she could not.

Ruby's cheeks began to burn as she reached forward, pulling her inwardly confused friend forward, and wrapping her arms around her. The hug was soft, almost friendly, but there was something else. Something they couldn't pinpoint, but it pushed Weiss to do something she never would have done otherwise. She tightened her hold imperceptivity, and said, no, whispered, in Ruby's ear, "Thank you."

There was several emotions in those two words that neither girl could decipher, but either way, Ruby pulled Weiss closer, and said simply, "Anytime, Weiss." They held the embrace for a few more seconds before breaking apart, both blushing but happy, and made their way out of the classroom.

Team RWBY was now in their dorm, all getting ready for bed. Ruby was in the bathroom, getting changed. Weiss and Blake was already in their nightwear, Yang was simply taking off her more heavy accessories, getting ready right in the room, since she didn't really change her clothes to sleep. Weiss had nagged her about it being an unhygienic practice, but Yang didn't really care, claiming that her immune system and semblance was so strong combined, nothing short of loss of limb could phase her.

Weiss was frowning at her new bed. The Requisitions Office had simply crammed it in-between Ruby's bed, which had been pushed back into its original position, and the far left wall. It was a tight fit, but fit it did. She pressed down on the surface of it with her hand. It seemed stiffer than her old one, but it would suffice, she supposed.

There was a bang as the bathroom door swing out with enough force to hit the adjacent wall as the red-headed ball of energy exploded from the bathroom into the center of the room in the blink of an eye with a burst of rose petals announcing her entrance. "Alright, Team RWBY, lights ou-!" 

"Ruby Rose, what did I say about using your semblance in the dorm?!"

Ruby winced at Weiss's harsh tone and sudden shouting. She did indeed remember that particular lecture, even if she was a but distracted at the moment by the way Weiss's lips formed around the words. Still, Weiss continued by saying, "The dustpan is in the corner, now sweep up those petals before they stain the carpet!" Ruby gave a solemn nod, moving over to complete the task given to her by her crush.

As she was sweeping up the red flower petals, Yang made a _wha-psh_ sound, and moved her arm in a vague whipping motion, before saying, "Dang, Weiss, do I need to buy you some leather underwear to go with that whip?" Weiss involuntarily tried to do a great many things in that moment, only succeeding un blushing heavily at the implications of what Yang just said and sending herself into a coughing fit.

While Weiss appeared to be choking on air, Yang was in stiches on her own bed. Even Blake had lowered her book in favor of watching the spectacle in the room. Yang received a red-cheeked glare from her younger sibling. More than a little frustrated at her sister's teasing, Ruby decided to retaliate. She said, "Yeah, yeah, keep talking Yang, Weiss isn't the one with a pain semblance and a girlfriend who likes ropes!" Needless to say, Blake's nose was back into her book, and Yang's laughter died off quickly.

There was silence in the room as Ruby finished her task, saying, "Ok, now that that's over, lights out! Tomorrow is Saturday, and we don't have anything planned, so we can sleep in." The four girls started laying down for bed, Getting under the covers as Ruby flipped off the lights. Zooming into her bed and under the covers. She frowned slightly as she got under. Her bed wasn't nearly as confortable as it was last night, but she just chalked it up to a lack of heiress.

It really was shocking what that girl could do to her without even knowing it. Either way, Ruby rolled over and closed her eyes. Sleep did not come nearly as easy or as quick as last night, but it did come, and without fail, Ruby fell asleep.

Weiss frowned as she climbed under her own covers. They were cold. Very, very cold. Weiss presumed that it was just her mind playing tricks on her, and wrapped herself in the covers. They refused to warm even slightly. As she laid her head on the pillows, an odd sensation came over her. Despite the fact that she was in a room with her team, and Ruby was only a few feet away, she felt completely, unequivocally alone.

Everything was cold. The fitted sheets under her, the blankets on top of her, the pillow her head was lying on, even the silk nightwear she was wearing. It all felt like ice on her skin, only serving to remind her of the warmth she had felt the previous night. She longed for that, even if she denied it in her mind, she could feel it.

 _This is unbelievable. I sleep alone every night, last night excluded. I am_ used to it _! Seriously, I can fall asleep without Ruby._

With her thoughts backing her, Weiss settled down in bed, getting as comfortable as she could, and closed her eyes. Her brows furrowed. Just a minute ago, she felt fairly sleepy, but now that she was actually in her bed and trying to sleep, she felt absolutely no trace of tiredness in her system. Sleep simply would not come.

Weiss rolled over, seeking a comfortable position on her own bed. When that didn't help, she opened her eyes once more. When she rolled over, she had, unintentionally turned to face her slumbering partner. Ruby was facing her as well, her eyes closed, her mouth partially open, and soft, almost inaudible noises came from the sleeping girl. Once more, Weiss felt her chest flutter in that frustrating way it always did when Ruby did something cute. Then, a stray thought came to the forefront of Weiss's mind.

 _What if I ask to sleep with her? I mean, this is_ Ruby _. She would understand, right? There is no way she would just tell me no…STOP! That is positively ridiculous. I am_ not _going wake Ruby up and_ ask to sleep with her _just because I am having trouble sleeping. Its not like her being with me would change anything…_

Slightly ashamed she'd entertained the thought for as long as she had, Weiss pointedly turned away from Ruby. She would lie in bed for several hours, and, in the end, it would be the phantom memory of those arms and that warmth that would allow Weiss some thin, restless sleep.

Weiss and Ruby walked down the street. It was late Saturday evening, and Ruby had persuaded Weiss to go into Vale with her. There was no real goal in mind for their little excursion, aside from a movie that they were planning on seeing later about some superhero that Ruby had shown Weiss a trailer of. Until seven-thirty, however, they were just wandering about.

Evidentially, Ruby had been looking forward to seeing this movie for years, as she was always a fan of the protagonist, Dead-something. Weiss couldn't remember the name. Even if she hadn't told Weiss this piece information, one could probably tell that Ruby was looking forward to this simply by the boundless excitement that was just oozing off of the younger girl. Weiss refused to acknowledge the fact that it was leaking into her a bit as well. Deciding to break their contented silence, Weiss said, "So, it sure looks like you are exited to see this. By the way you are bouncing around, it definitely appears so."

Ruby turned to her friend and partner, her silver eyes wide and exited Weiss could've mistaken her for a puppy, and said, "Yeah! I've been waiting for the to make a Deadpool movie for, like, three years!" Ah, so it was "Deadpool". Odd name for a super hero, but to each their own, she supposed. The younger girl quieted down, noticeably less bouncy, much to Weiss's surprise. The continued walking down the street in relative piece.

At least, until Ruby reached out and grabbed Weiss's hand.

Weiss's eye quickly snapped wide open, her head jerking to the side to look at the blushing younger girl, who was slightly shorter, as Weiss was wearing heels. 'T-thanks, Weiss. For coming, I mean," began the 15 year-old, "I know you don't care all that much about the movie, but you came anyway." Ruby then stops, and turns to face her partner. Grabbing her other hand, Ruby looked into Weiss's eyes and said, "That…that means a lot to me Weiss. I actually, really like you. You act all cold, bet you are really sweet when you want to be, and I think I lo-"

Everything after that fell on deaf ears. While Ruby was talking, Weiss had begun to feel an odd sensation, like all her limbs were filling with concrete. That was when she saw _him_. It was that… _bastard_ …from the train. He was right behind Ruby. How he had snuck up on them, she didn't know. How Ruby didn't hear the revved up chainsaw-sword, she didn't know, as the sound was filling her ears. Ruby leaned in towards Weiss, and the white-haired girl could feel the intent behind it.

Ruby was going to kiss her, even as the saw came barreling towards the two.

Weiss couldn't move her lips to warn her partner. She couldn't move as Ruby's confession was drowned out by the psychotic cackling of that madman. She couldn't so much as scream as Ruby's sweet, kind, innocent voice changed into a scream of pure agony. Tears forming in her eyes as she looked at Weiss. She choked out a, "Why, Weiss. Why aren't you helping me? Why are you just watching?" Her legs crumpled underneath her, clinging futilely to Weiss's clothes as the saw cut her spinal column, and she lost control of her legs. Still, she kept weeping and talking, "Why, why wont you speak, help me Weiss! Do you want this? This is your fault, why aren't you helping me?" Tears were now pouring out of Ruby and Weiss's eyes together as the White Fang Lieutenant began hacking the smaller girl to pieces, Ruby screaming all the while.

Once he was done with Ruby, he moved to her. He didn't harm her physically, but simply got in her face, and growled out a simple, "You did this. This is your fault." His mask had filled her vision, so she couldn't see what was happening behind him. As he backed away, several mixed emotions played through her as she saw her partner, standing there, completely unharmed. Only, then the Lieutenant revved his bloodstained saw once more, and went back to work. He would slaughter Weiss's best friend, Ruby screeching and begging the immobile Heiress to help, all the way until she finally would die. The, he would get in Weiss's face, repeat that same sick message, and repeat the process.

Over, and over, and…

… _over…_

Weiss and Ruby stumbled through the dorm. Their faces were attached by the mouth, their hands all over each other. They stumbled onto Weiss's bed, Weiss falling on top of Ruby. Her hands were all over Ruby's body, tugging at her clothes and fondling her through them. Ruby was loving it, and reciprocating with everything she had; Weiss's jacket had been ditched halfway to the bed. It just felt _so good_ finally getting to hold the Heiress like this after so long. Weiss seemed to feel the same way, as she pulled back, away from Ruby, a hot breath of air and a thin string of saliva all still connecting their sweaty, blushing faces as Weiss said, "I think I love you Ruby!" Ruby's chest filled with joy, while her nether regions filled with lust, and grew slick.

 _Huh, where did all our clothes go?_

 _…Questions for another time._

Ruby moaned as Weiss continued feeling her up, now fully capable of feeling the skin-on-skin contact, and she was just loving it. Being able, and allowed, to touch and be touched by the woman she held so close to her heart was a breathtaking experience. Ruby flipped the two over, Weiss easily accepting the new position.

 _I always did thing she would be submissive in bed sometimes. Good to know._

Ruby continued kissing her crush, wrapping her arms around her neck, Weiss doing the same. At least, until Ruby started working her way down. Nibbling on her neck first, then absolutely _worshipping_ the Heiress's beautiful collarbones, kissing down the valley of Weiss's (admittedly small) breasts, across the smooth, tight skin of her stomach, all the way down to her ultimate goal. It was pretty and pink, and everything she had dreamt it would be, and it smelled just _lovely_. She articulated this with, "Weiss, its so pretty!"

Looking up at her in-more-ways-than-one partner, Ruby saw Weiss's frustrated frown. She thumped Ruby lightly on the head, saying simply, "Dolt, don't just say that!" Next, Weiss wove that same hand into a head of Red and Brown hair, and saying, "Now, quit teasing, and get to work!" There was a slight whining quality to her voice that just set Ruby off.

She gave a playful salute, said, "Yes ma'am," and dove down at her prize, eager to finally bring Weiss the pleasure and happiness that she had wanted to give for the past several months. She brought her moth to Weiss's womanhood, loving the moan that came from just the slightest touch…

…then she woke up.

"Damnit!"

Thankfully, even in her aroused frustration, Ruby kept her venting at a whisper-yell level. It was always incredibly frustrating when she had dreams like that. Even so, she had never come so close to actually getting to the act before, which only made the whole situation even more infuriating. She turned her head towards the clock on the bookshelf in the middle of the room.

 _3:32?! Why am I awake? This is dumb! There has to be something that woke me up._

It was then that a sound reached her ears, one that she only noticed now that the sleep was fading from her. The sound caused her previously sleepy mind to sharpen immediately. Ruby sat quietly, waiting to see if the sound would repeat, or if it was simply a trick of her mind. Sure enough, the sound repeated again a few seconds later.

A quiet, pitiful little sob.

The sound alone was almost enough to put tears in her eyes as she rolled over toward the source of the sound: her partner. There was just enough light left in the room for Ruby to see tears streaming down Weiss's face. It broke the red heads heart so see.

 _Oh, dust, she's having a nightmare. Should I wake her up? It looks like a bad one. No, no! She'd just get mad for interrupting her sleep. She always says not to interrupt her sleep if it isn't an emergency. Plus, she's strong. I'm sure she'll be all right._

Resigned to her path, Ruby rolled around, closed her eyes, and attempted to fall asleep. She ignored Weiss soft crying for a few minutes, severely straining her resolve.

Only for it to completely shatter at a single, heart-imploding whimper.

In barely a second Ruby was on her feet and at Weiss's bedside, which wasn't exactly hard considering the two beds were hardly a foot from each other. Ruby stood over Weiss, her form was shaking slightly under the covers and she was curled in on herself, small noises of pain coming from the white-haired girl.

 _Oh, no, it's like one of those animal shelter commercials, but worse! S, how should I go about this?_

Ruby climbed onto the bed with her friend, sitting on her knees next to her, and reached out a single hand to her shoulder. She was noticeably sweaty, even through the silk of her nightgown. Ruby shook Weiss's shoulder gently, whispering "Weiss," quietly. She simply received another whimper as a result. Ruby shook her partner with a little more vigor, and said "Weiss" once more, with more urgency, eager to staunch the flow of tears from the older girl.

This would suffice, as Weiss's eyes suddenly snapped open, looking wild and panicked. Ruby recognized the look in her eyes; it was that if a cornered animal. It hurt Ruby deeply to see her partner, such a usually strong person, in such a state.

Almost as much as it hurt when Weiss's fist met her jaw.

The swing was sloppy, and didn't have much weight behind it, but regardless, just the surprise of it was enough to hurt. Weiss began flailing around on the bed, adrenaline fueling her system as she lost perception of reality. To her, she was under attack, and naturally fought back. Weiss writhed against Ruby in the darkness of the room, fighting with all her tired strength at the unknown adversary.

Ruby was struggling; trying her calm Weiss down and protect herself at the same time. All the while, Weiss was sobbing and chanting "No, no, not again!" and such. Ruby bared her weight down on the older, yet smaller girl, using her own body to press Weiss down into the bed, her hands moved to Weiss face, cupping her smooth, tearstained cheeks as tenderly as she could while Weiss's fists pounded on her back.

"Weiss, Weiss! Look at me!" Ruby said as she pushed her face closer to her best friend until their foreheads were touching. In the heat of the moment, Ruby had completely forgotten about how embarrassed she should've been at being this close to her crush. All she cared about at the moment was calming Weiss down. "Weiss, look, it's me, Ruby!" she began, "Your friend! Calm down, Weiss, you're safe, I promise!" Weiss's thrashing slowed rapidly as her eyes focused on Ruby's. Her breath came out in pants, and she held completely still for several seconds, before a single word slipped out of her lips, so small and broken sounding…

"…Ruby?"

"Yeah, Weiss, it me, Ruby," there were tears in her own eyes now, it hurt to see Weiss like this, "You're safe, I promise." Weiss then just broke down. Her arms wrapped around Ruby, her face tucking easily into her friend's shoulder as she sobbed. Ruby froze up for a second, unsure of what would be an appropriate response to these turn of events.

 _Look, Ruby, this isn't about you or your crush on Weiss. This is about Weiss, so just do whatever she needs, and right now, she needs this._

Ruby loosened up, mimicking what Yang had done for her when she was little, and wrapped her arms around the sobbing girl's neck, and making little "shush" noises into Weiss's ear, along with mumblings of "It's all right" and "Let it out". She took care not to put too much weight on the 17 year old, just enough to make her feel safe.

Weiss gave a small hiccup, and, through her sobs, she said 'Ruby, you're okay! He…he just…he kept hurting you…and I couldn't do _anything_ , and it was _all my fau-_ "

Ruby was having none of that, and she shushed her, saying simply "It was just a nightmare, I'm alright Weiss." Weiss broke down once more. She was like a little kid, all that fear and relief in her system. Weiss clutched desperately at the back of Ruby's shirt, crying with all she was worth.

They stayed like that for several minutes, until Weiss calmed down, and her sobbing died away. When it did, the two puled away from each other slightly. Weiss looked into Ruby's eyes, and her heart swelled. It felt so _good_ to see her partner after her nightmare. She realized, then, just how important this girl was to her. This little dolt who had blown her up on their first day had done what no one could ever do. She was there for her, now, and always. Tears welled in her eyes once more as she said, "Thank you, Ruby."

Ruby gave a small, nervous chuckle, before saying, "Its no problem Weiss." A small frowned formed on Ruby's face as the girl underneath her shook her head at the way Ruby brushed it off.

"No, not about this," Weiss began, "Thank you, for everything Ruby." Her arms tightened around Ruby's neck, attempting to pull her ever so slightly closer. The combination of the liberating feeling that night always brought and the emotions running high through Weiss's body served to help her release her inhibitions enough to continue. "You are always there for me, you always help me, even when I treat you like garbage, Ruby. Why?"

Ruby's jaw worked up and down at the uncharacteristically emotional Heiress's question. No matter how hard she tried, Ruby couldn't quite come up with an answer that would in any way help the emotional girl under her. "Weiss, I…I can't really answer that. You're just all emotional right now," Ruby said. Weiss's only response to that was too begin her sobbing anew, Ruby wincing internally, feeling as if she had made the situation worse by her inaction.

Seeking to rectify the issue, Ruby said to Weiss, "Hey, I've never seen you like this before. You are usually so…reserved, I think the word is, so this is kina scaring me, Weiss." Steeling herself for whatever response the crying Heiress would give, Ruby finished with, "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Weiss felt fear grip her heart once more, oh-so similar to the fear and agony she felt during her dream. However, as her blue eyes met those comforting pools of silver, she felt it ebb away just enough for her to speak, however brokenly, "It-it was all good," she was already losing memory of whatever had happened before it all went to hell, but she could remember the feelings of joy, and that was enough. She continued, "Until _he_ showed up. And…and her just…he _hurt you, Ruby!"_ she was falling apart all over again, not caring about her image for once as she shattered in Ruby's arms, trusting her partner to pick up the pieces. She could not stop taking, however, and continued, "He just kept hurting you _, killing you! Over and over and over!_ And I-I-I was j-just so _useless_!"

Ruby shushed her then, moving an arm to cradle the back of Weiss's head like one would an infant, and said, "Hey, it's alright. _I'm_ all right. It was just a dream, so it doesn't matter." Ruby did her best to make her words sound as comforting as physically possible, but she was surprised as Weiss began to writhe in her arms, pulling from her grip.

"No, no! You don't understand!" the Heiress began, fresh tears streaming from the pale blue orbs that were frantically looking into Ruby's eyes and around her face, "It doesn't 'not matter', because I-I saw it! Ruby, I saw you!" Emotions that were totally indecipherable were flooding her system, mind-boggling cocktails of anger and pain, of happiness and sadness, of fury and protection. They didn't make sense, but served their purpose of keeping the rush of words coming from Weiss's mouth, "And it hurts so much because you aren't just someone! You are _you!_ You are _my first friend, my best friend!"_ Now, she stared into Ruby's eyes so deeply, it felt as if she was looking into the very depths of Ruby's soul, as she finished, "Ruby…you are _precious_ to me."

Ruby was shaking. She couldn't stop. It was all so much, so fast, and her mind simply couldn't process it all at the moment. However, she still got the gist of Weiss's speech, and forced the following words from her shocked mouth, "It-its alright, Weiss. You are really…important to me too. I promise I'm ok, and you're ok." Despite the clumsiness of the delivery, it served its purpose as a smile appeared on the emotionally exhausted heiress's tearstained face for what seemed like the first time that night.

The two girls would lie still for several minutes, calming down, before Ruby asked the question, "So, are you feeling better now?" She received a small nod from the heiress. Ruby then said, "Ok, well then, I'm going to be heading back to my bed." she pulled away from Weiss, saying, "Goodnight, Weiss."

"Wait."

Ruby tuned around at the unexpected call, a questioning look on her face as she looked back at the older girl. The emotional night had truly stripped away any semblance of her usual inhibitions as Weiss said, "Could you…stay with me tonight? I don't want to have another nightmare." Seeing the redhead's hesitant facial expression, Weiss continued with, "Just until I fall asleep, ok? You can leave after that if you want."

It warmed her heart and left her feeling that warm, fuzzy, nervous-as-all-hell feeling in her chest seeing the Heiress leaving herself so vulnerable to the Leader, and there was no way she could deny such a beautiful girl such a simple request, even if her face was hidden by the shadows. Ruby simply said, "Ok," before worming her way under the covers, careful to leave a respectable amount of space between the two of them, which was decidedly difficult considering they were sharing a twin bed. The two partners lie there, stiff as boards, reminiscent of the previous night, for a period of thirty or so seconds, before, under the covers, a smooth, cool hand found her own. As one, the two girls relaxed into the bed, beginning to drift off next to each other.

Ruby was careful not to fall asleep, wanting to avoid the inevitable teasing Yang you cause if she found them sleeping together again. Several minutes later, she felt the hand in her own go slack, and heard the Heiress's breathing slow.

 _Well, it was n-ice while it lasted._

 _Dang it_ Yang _._

Pun aside; it was time for Ruby to take her leave. Steeling herself for what felt like the hardest task in her life, she rolled over, and began to swing her legs over the side of the bed before something interrupted her. Something unexpected, unignorable, and of utmost importance.

A single, cool, thin arm being thrown around her waist.

Weiss was obviously asleep, the near-inaudible snore told Ruby that, but now there was no way that Ruby could leave without waking up the Heiress. Or, at least, that what Ruby told herself as she slowly fell back onto the bed next to the heiress. Weiss had to have rolled over for her arm to end up where it was, which left even less room than before. It was near impossible to avoid practically cuddling her partner.

 _Well, if you can't beat 'em…_

Not that she was complaining as she wrapped her arms around her small, snuggly partner, and began to doze off.

 **1 minute earlier, Weiss**

Weiss was slowly falling asleep. She knew, deep inside of her, that no nightmares would come so long as she had Ruby there. Her bed was so warm now. Even if they weren't as close as her heart was telling her to be for some reason, the hand in hers was enough so reassure her. She felt exhausted, both emotionally and physically. It was…liberating…to step out of the walls that she had built, even if it was just for a night.

She couldn't help the small smile that fell over her face. Maybe her bed wasn't as warm as it could be with Ruby's presence, but it was surely comfortable. An odd heat was radiating from her chest, and she slowly began to feel the soft embrace of sleep begin to consume her. She relaxed under the covers and slowed her breathing.

At least, until that warmth that was comforting her suddenly pulled away.

 _No, no, no, not now, I was almost asleep, I need you to be here, don't leave!_

There was no small amount of panic surging through her heart, causing it to pick up tempo. With her heart pounding in her throat, Weiss searched desperately for a way to keep her partner in the bed with her. She couldn't just tell her to stay again, that would be uncouth, and make her look even more like a needy child than she was slightly ashamed of looking earlier. With her time running out and a severe lack of options, Weiss rolled over, attempting to mimic being asleep, and sling her left arm over Ruby's waist.

She felt Ruby stiffen at the touch, and felt very minute movements from where her hand was at Ruby's hip. She wanted nothing more than to open her eyes and see what exactly Ruby was doing, but she kept her eyes tightly closed, assuming the movement she could feel was simply Ruby turning her head back and forth. After several seconds of Ruby holding that odd position of being halfway on and off of the bed, Ruby seemed to make up her mind.

Weis completely denied the fact that her heart was soaring as Ruby climbed back into her place in bed by Weiss. Even more so, however, when Ruby Wrapped her arms around Weiss. Gone was the hand holding, now, Ruby was holding the Heiress to her chest, and Weiss could hear the beautiful music of Ruby's heartbeat right in her ear.

Any memory of that horrid nightmare seemed to be swept away by the warmth surrounding her, and that soothing beat in her ear. Even more so, that pulsing proved one thing above all else.

 _She's alive. She's not hurt; she never was hurt. Ruby is perfectly fine and here._

And it was that heartbeat that slowly began to slow, with Weiss's heart matching tempo, and she began that blissful diminuendo into the realms of sleep.

 _Thank you, Ruby Rose._

She was warm.

Ruby's brow furrowed as a beam of sunlight shined directly onto her closed eyes. Unconsciously, Ruby attempted to turn away, to hold onto the last dregs of sleep, only to be thwarted by an odd weight in her arms. Curious, she attempted to open her eyes, only to snap the shut again at the blinding morning sunlight.

Frustrated but determined, Ruby tried again, slower this time. She was significantly more successful this time. She glanced down, seeing a head of white hair pressed into her chest. She couldn't help the soft, sleepy smile that formed at the sound of her partner's quiet breathing.

 _So sweet…_

Her attention was drawn to another sound in the room, however, when Yang walked over toward them, a teasing grin on her face telling of things to come. Blake was just waking up, apparently, if the fact that she was still stretching in bed. Yang opened her mouth, about to speak, only to be quieted as the younger sister pressed a single finger to her own lips. Ruby caught Blake's eyes from across the room, trying to convey a message without waking up the Heiress. Blake gave an understanding look, before getting up and grabbing Yang's shoulder, whispering, "Come on, Yang, lets go get some breakfast."

The blonde looked at the faunas confusedly, articulating it with, "Huh? Blake what-?"

Blake squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. She then said to Yang, "Trust me." This was evidentially enough for Yang, who nodded, and soon began getting dressed for the day, Blake following her example. In short, they two girls were making their way out of the room.

Before they left, however, Yang sent a single, questioning look toward her sister, and Ruby responded by mouthing, "I'll explain later." Yang nodded, and then Ruby and Weiss were alone. Ruby stayed like that for several more minutes, just cradling the smaller, yet older, girl, enjoying the cool kind of warmth that always seemed to radiate from her.

Soon, however, Weiss began to wake up, groaning and shuffling around in Ruby's grip. Ruby couldn't help her heart suddenly picking up pace and blood rushing to her face as Weiss, her crush, unconsciously pulled Ruby closer, seeking her warmth. It sent a pleasant fluttering feeling through the pit of her stomach.

Weiss pulled back away from her partner, not yet removing herself from the embrace, and looked up into her partner's grey eyes. "Good morning, Ruby." Ruby didn't reply, instead squeezing her partner slightly. Weiss pulled away, sitting up in bed, and began stretching.

The covers fell away from her form, and her hair, slightly frazzled form sleep, fell down around her shoulders in a waterfall of liquid platinum, and the sunlight shone across her. Ruby couldn't move. She could see everything, from the way Weiss's back arched as her arms raised above her head, the way her mouth opened for a near-inaudible yawn, how her nightgown shifted over her porcelain skin, everything.

Despite how her heart protested, Ruby pulled her gaze away before Weiss could notice. When she looked back, Weiss was looking at her with an odd expression on her face. Confused, Ruby said, "Weiss? What's the matter?"

Weiss sighed, still sitting on her knees. The expression on her face morphed into something closer to worried as she said, "We are still…okay, right?" At Ruby's, for lack of a better term, violently confused face, Weiss clarified, "Last night was…odd. I was really clingy and I don't know why, and you just had to deal with me, so I really hope you aren't mad angry."

Ruby frowned at that. Angry? Did Weiss really think she could be angry at her for her having a nightmare? Ruby sat up, leveling with her partner, and said, "Weiss…of course I'm not angry! Also, I didn't 'have to deal with you'; I decided to help you out. Really, if anything, it makes me happy that you could trust me with you being that…vulnerable." Weiss's worried expression died away at that, replacing itself with a small smile. Ruby could help but note just how beautiful Weiss looked just then.

"Thank you, Ruby. You always say the right thing," she then chuckled, "even if you don't realize it." Ruby just smiled. Weiss smiled right back.

 _Oum, that smile. Ruby's smile is so…wow._

Her heart rate picked up, only continuing to do so as Ruby reached out her arms in an obvious question for a hug. Weiss gave it to her. They seemed to be doing that a lot as of late. She couldn't help the swelling of her heart as she felt Ruby so close, bringing about thoughts of her revelations from class yesterday that had been forgotten up until now.

 _Do I really…like Ruby?_

 _Of course not, that is ridiculous._

Even as she denied it, Ruby pulled back, and locked eyes with the Heiress. Weiss was suddenly aware of more things then she was used to. She was noticing things that she had never noticed before. The smooth roundness of her partner's face, the way her hair framed her cute face, how the morning sunlight reflected off of her silver irises…

 _Maybe…maybe I do…_

There it was.

She refused to totally acknowledge it as truth, but it undoubtedly rang a chord deep inside of her.

Ruby broke her out of her revere, however unintentionally, with the rumbling of her stomach. Weiss felt a laugh bubbling up through her form, and no matter what she did, she couldn't stop it from coming out. It was far from the loud guffaws that Yang tended to spout, but instead was light, almost airy.

Ruby likened it to the tinkling of bells.

She quickly decided it was her favorite sound.

Once her laughter died down, Weiss said, "How about we go get some breakfast, okay?" Ruby nodded.

As they got up and began to get ready, one idea kept reverberating through Ruby's mind, a vast well of determination, the kind she had only felt during a hunt before, suddenly appearing out of nowhere in her heart. As the two partners began walking out of their dorm, closer than ever, but not as close as they could be, there was only one thought going through Ruby's mind.

 _Soon. Soon, I'll tell Weiss how I feel._

 _ **A/N**_

 **Hey, guys, it seems like its been forever, and, to be honest, I could've gotten this out faster, but, eh, life. I put in a lot of hard work into this chapter, and here is the product of a month and a half of writing. I hope you all enjoy, Questions? Comments? Concerns? Leave em in the reviews, and see you all in Chapter 3. If all goes to plan, there will be two or three more chapters in** _ **Fate, Frayed Rope, and (Gay) Feelings**_ **.**


	3. Finding the Truth

**A/N**

 **Hey all, I apologize for the long-ass wait for this chapter. I really have no good excuse, but dear lord, this chapter is quite the beast. This will be the final chapter of this particular story, but fret not. See the end author's note for more details. Until then, strap in, cause this Chapter is one hell of a ride. I hope you enjoy, put a lot of hard work into this one.**

Chapter 3: Finding the Truth

 _Ok something is definitely off with them._

This was Yang's thought as she looked across the table. She had woken up today to a rather odd scene this morning; her sister holding Weiss in her arms in the heiress's bed. That alone would've been odd enough, but Ruby had given her a strange look when Yang moved to tease her. It wasn't the normal look of annoyance either, but instead, it almost looked…protective.

Now, they were at breakfast, and things appeared just as strange as they were when she had woken up. After her girlfriend had pulled her out of the room, they had gone to the cafeteria. The other two didn't join them for nearly thirty minutes, more enough time for Weiss to wake up and a conversation to be had.

The two girls in front of Yang sat in their respective places, Weiss drinking some coffee with a plate of eggs in front of her, and Ruby was eating a stack of pancakes drowning in syrup and strawberries.

 _Who the hell eats eggs just plain like that anyway? Ew._

That was where the normality ended. Yang had known Ruby throughout all fifteen years of the redhead's life, more than long enough to know that large amounts of sugar plus weekends equals a Ruby more excited than a lit stick of dynamite.

Only Ruby had barely said a word.

Then there was Weiss. Like Ruby, she was being rather quiet. Now, this was nothing new, as Weiss was far from a morning person, only, she wasn't just quiet. Weiss was constantly shuffling in her seat, and had a deep look in her eye, as if she was contemplating the meaning of the universe.

 _Well, maybe not_ that _dramatic._

It was, needless to say, very strange. Seeking to end the silence at the table, Yang said, "So...how did you guys sleep?" Weiss's eyes widened almost imperceptibly, and Ruby lowered a fork full of pancake down from her mouth.

Yang felt a small amount of shock at that; Ruby never would lower food from her mouth to talk, especially _strawberries_. Regardless, Ruby said, "Fine. Uh…you guys?" Yang felt worry building up in her breast. That was _not_ a Ruby-esque response. It was unnerving to say the least. However, a soft, smooth hand, belonging to her partner and girlfriend, fell onto her own, and all her problems seemed significantly less worrisome.

 _Thanks Blake. God, I love you._

She resolved to tell her ever-perceptive girlfriend that later.

Right now, however, Blake piped up, "We slept just fine," and went back to her bagel. Yang rolled her hand around so that her palm was touching Blake's and gave an appreciative squeeze. Swallowing the food in her mouth, Blake continued, "So, what are you guy's doing later?"

Ruby picked her fork up once more, and stuffed the bite into her mouth, ever aware of her partner's presence at her side, and shrugged. Weiss responded with, "I'm not planning anything, why?"

Yang then said, "Well, me and Blake were going to head down to the city for a night out. Go eat at a fancy restaurant, maybe see a movie or something…" she trailed off. She saw Ruby's eyes that time. She had glanced at Weiss for roughly a second, just long enough to seem less than casual.

 _Just what are you up to, little sis?_

Unknowing of Yang's observing of her behavior, Ruby said, "Oh, cool. I hope you guys have fun. I guess me and Weiss will…just kinda hang out…?" Ruby looked down at her food for a second, before pushing her plate away and setting her fork down.

 _Woah, ok, so now Ruby isn't eating, and Weiss didn't correct her to 'Weiss and I' either. What is happening?_

Yang turned to look at her girlfriend, a question in her eye. Blake appeared to have picked up on the same clues as her girlfriend, and she met Yang's eyes, glanced at Weiss, then nodded. Yang turns toward Ruby, saying, "Hey, Rubes, I think I left something in the dorm. Walk with me to get it."

Ruby's brow furrowed at that, and she opened her mouth, asking, "Wait, why do I need to walk with-ah!" Ruby was yanked up out of her seat as Yang grabbed her arm as she walked past, pulling her little sister behind her and out of the cafeteria.

Blake sat there, across from a very confused heiress. It appeared that she was almost startled by the sudden removal of her partner. Odd. Either way, now that Yang had gotten Ruby alone to talk about the strange way the red and white pair had been acting this morning, it was time for Blake to enact her part of her Girlfriend's unspoken plan. "So, Weiss," she began, "I was wondering if you could help me with something."

Weiss didn't look any less confused, but it did appear she had pushed it to the side for the moment. She said, "Now what could you need my help for?"

"Here, I'll show you, follow me," Blake responded, getting up from the table. Weiss, even more confused now, got up as well, quickly throwing their trays away, the Black and White pair left the cafeteria. Blake occupied herself with digging through her mind, trying to find something that she would need Weiss's help with. Yang was probably going to grill Ruby for answers, but Weiss was different. Blake hoped to coax Weiss into divulging the information of her own will. She directed them towards the library for a time, before an idea came to her head.

She suddenly stopped and pulled out her scroll, pretending as if it had buzzed in her pocket. Weiss asked, "What is it?" but Blake ignored her, simply angling the screen in such a way that Weiss couldn't see it, and made a small noise of acknowledgement.

Stowing her scroll away, Blake said to Weiss, "Well, I _was_ going to ask for help with an assignment pertaining to Dust, since I'm not as experienced as you are there, but it's just been canceled," she gave a small shrug before continuing, "Oh, well, we are already out here. Want to go for a walk?"

 _I am_ so _smooth._

Weiss seemed to accept the answer, and said, "Sure, why not. That sounds nice, and I think I need a little fresh air." The heiress's voice took on a tired undertone towards the end of the statement, a fact that did not elude Blake. Blake changed their coarse slightly so that they were walking to the Gardens instead.

The Gardens of Beacon, a sprawling section of campus seemingly entirely devoted to plant life. Flowers and Trees bloomed all over the area, and it had become a famous study and relaxation place by the students. Surrounding and interweaving the Gardens were a network of paths and walkways, leading to all the different sections of this work of agricultural artwork. The gardens as a whole were surrounded by a tall wall of hedges, a wall that the Monochrome duo were currently walking along.

 **Weiss**

Weiss walked beside Blake for several minutes in silence, letting her mind wander, and doing her best to relax. She mostly succeeded, but for one issue: her mind constantly wandered back to her redheaded partner. That girl was unendingly frustrating to Weiss. No matter what she did, Ruby never seemed to leave her mind.

 _I just don't know what to do! I mean, I can't possibly have a crush on her, right? A year ago, the answer would be obvious: a resounding "No", but now I just don't know. I have no experience with this._

Despite her attempts at relaxation, a heavy knot of unease began to form in her stomach. She glanced over to her left at the person who was walking with her.

 _Maybe I don't have any experience in what these emotions are…_

Blake Belladonna used to be so different, so glum, so quiet, but now, something had changed her so drastically, so fundamentally, that even those who didn't know the faunus could see a difference, and that change was named Yang Xiao Long.

… _but I bet Blake does._

Forcing through her anxiety, Weiss began working up the courage to speak. Blake was, by far, the most approachable one of her teammates at the moment, and was her best bet at finally getting some answers. "Hey, Blake?" she began. Blake gave a small hum of acknowledgement, signaling for Weiss to continue. Weiss then said, "I have something very personal to ask you. Could we go somewhere a little more private?"

Blake raised an inquisitive eyebrow at the suspicious question before saying, "Sure, Weiss. I think I know of a place." Blake sped up slightly on her path, a goal now in mind. Soon, the pair was in the farthest corner of the Garden, where a wall of hedges lined up parallel and against the brick wall of one of the many buildings of Beacon. Blake led Weiss to a section of hedge where there was a gap in the brick wall behind the hedge. Blake then stopped, and turned to Weiss, saying, "We're here."

Weiss raised a confused eyebrow to that, saying, "What do you mean, 'we're here'?" She then made a vague motion to the surrounding area, continuing, "How is this any different than the rest of the garden?" Blake gave a sly smile, before wordlessly brushing a loosely hanging portion of hedge aside, forming a small entryway into the alley between the two buildings.

Blake motioned for Weiss to pass through, and curiosity drove the heiress through the bush and into the narrow space between the bricks. Blake soon followed her, a quiet rustle sounding behind them, the hedge falling back into place and hiding their path. The two girls walked down the alley for about twenty feet before it opened up, forming a square of space slightly smaller than their dorm. In the middle of the square was a small pond with a single stone bench next to it. "How did you find this?" Weiss asked in amazement.

Blake shrugged, saying, "I was looking for somewhere quiet to read." She then turned to the amazed heiress, catching her attention once more, saying, "So, Weiss, what was it you wanted to ask?"

 _Oh, right, I almost forgot._

In her wonder at finding the hidden alcove, her unease had faded into the background. Now, however, it was back full force. "It's…I mean…" she let out a huff of frustration, before saying, "I'm sorry, this is…rather difficult."

Blake nodded understandingly, trying to help soothe Weiss's nerves with, "It's okay, Weiss, take your time." Seeing the Heiress continue to struggle with her words, Blake took a step forward, resting a hand on the frustrated girl's shoulder, and meeting her eyes. "Look, It's alright. Trust me, Weiss; I won't get upset by anything you say. I'm just here to help."

Weiss sighed and nodded, and then moved to sit on the bench in the center of the alley, Blake following her lead, before saying simply, "It…it's Ruby…"

Blake gave an acknowledging hum, before asking, "What about Ruby?" The heiress began squirming in her seat, trying to find a way to vocalize her thoughts in some semblance of a respectable manner.

She crossed her arms in front of her, rubbing her upper arms for a few seconds before saying, "I just-I mean-I don't even know, Blake! It just, I can't stop thinking about her, and I don't know why!" She then moved her arms to burry her face in her hands, and groaning uselessly. She looked up, seeing Blake's understanding eyes that urged her to continue, and just like that, the dam broke, "She just…invades every thought! Even worse, I've been having all these odd feelings about her that I've never had before!" The heiress's mind briefly flashed back to the previous two nights she's spent in her partner's arms before continuing with her rant, "It's just like…I don't even know! All the things I always thought were annoying are now…endearing, almost. Like, just yesterday, she _fell asleep_ in Professor Port's class, and I couldn't even get mad! In fact, I thought it was…it was… _cute_!" Her hands then found their way into her hair, and she began the last leg of her rant, "It feels close to that feeling of friendship I feel for you and Yang, but it…it's _not_ , and I can't tell why! It feels like it's…more than that, but I just don't understand it, Blake, and...and...I need help!"

She stopped her rant, sweat beading on her forehead, tears _almost_ beginning to well up behind her eyes, and looked to the faunus. Blake gave a small hum as she pondered over the waterfall of information that had just poured from the heiress. Soon, her eyes refocused on Weiss's, and she said, "Well, Weiss, it seems to me like you have a crush on our team leader."

Weiss actually _scoffed_ at that idea, saying, "Blake, just because you two are gay doesn't mean we have to be. I need real help, not jokes, Belladonna."

Blake shook her head, adopted a more serious tone, and said, "I'm not kidding, Weiss. From what you just told me, and all the little glances you throw towards her that, yes, I do notice, it really seems like you may like her as more than a friend." Weiss's eyes widened noticeably before she hid her emotions behind her metaphorical mask.

"Blake, stop," the Heiress began, "I do _not_ like Ruby as anything more than a friend." She then wrapped her arms around herself and said, "Besides, we are hardly even friends, what with how mean I've been to her."

 _She probably hates me._

Her thoughts were halted at an odd sound. In all the time she had been at Beacon, she had only heard this sound a select few times, and almost always in the presence of a certain Xiao Long. Blake was laughing. Well, more of a chuckle, but still. "Weiss," she began, "People who 'are hardly friends' don't wake up in the dead of night to comfort another person in bed."

Now, _that_ got a reaction out of Weiss. An audible gasp came from the heiress, and pink began to dust her cheeks as Blake revealed this specific piece of information. "W-wha-how?" was all Weiss could manage to stutter out. Blake simply gave a knowing smile and wiggled her ears underneath her bow.

Blake dropped her teasing attitude and said in a more sincere tone, "Look, Weiss, it is clear to everyone that you and Ruby are close, and I am only trying to help. Don't lie to me or yourself."

Weiss simply shook her head, willing the blush to go away, and said, "Blake, yes, me and Ruby are close, but," She punctuated each of the next few words with a single finger poking Blake in the shoulder, "I. Do. Not. Like. Her. Like that."

Blake caught the hand that was poking her, careful not to squeeze too tight, and said, "Look, Weiss, I want you to do something for me. I want you to think about everyone you know, and everyone you've ever met, and then imagine spending your whole life with them. Is there _anyone_ who you'd want that with?" She looked deeply into the Heiress's eyes, seeing the gears turn inside her head.

Weiss did what Blake asked, doing her best to work through all her friends and acquaintances. Out off all the many names and faces, only a few stuck out. Of those few, only one seemed entirely tolerable. Only one person Weiss could imagine being with. Only one Weiss _wanted_ to be with. The person who showed her a world she had never imagined back at the Manor, the only person who ever seemed honestly interested in her, the person who changed her character on a fundamental level.

That young, redheaded, dunce of a girl.

"Ruby," Weiss whispered. Her heart stuttered as she said the name, so simple, yet so powerful. Blake gave a knowing smile hearing the name pass through the shocked Heiress's lips. Weiss shook her head, snapping herself out of her reverie before saying shakily, "Maybe…maybe I do like her as more than what we are…but that doesn't change anything, Blake…"

At that, Blake's brow furrowed. What could possibly be enough to dissuade someone from seeking love? "What do you mean?" she asked.

Weiss looked Blake in the eye, and said in a tone that was borderline mournful, "Do you have any idea what I had to do to even come to Beacon? Getting permission to attend here was honestly the hardest thing I've ever done. Now the thought that I could be homosexual, and that I could be in a relationship with another girl…my-," there were tears in her eyes now, and one of the strongest people Blake knew slowly began to crumble under the next few words, "my _Father_ would die before he let that happen."

"Oh," Blake said. With the topic at hand, she had forgotten about Weiss's unique situation. "Look, Weiss," she began, reaching out to hold her friend's shoulders, "I know this is hard for you, but I want you to understand something, your father isn't _here_. He doesn't have the power to control you."

At that, Weiss wretched away from Blake, stumbling off of the bench facing away from her. Her eyes stung with furious tears as she said venomously, "Are you an _idiot_?!" Blake reeled at that, the sudden insult shocking her. Still, Weiss continued, "Even _if_ Ruby did want us to be together, it wouldn't change _anything!_ My Father would still find out eventually, he would tear us apart, marry me off to some businessman, and that would be _that_ , Blake!" She then whipped around facing the Faunus, "You have…not the slightest _inkling of an idea_ what power he holds over me! Just because he isn't here doesn't-"

"Weiss."

The heiress was silenced with the firm articulation of her name, shortly followed by Blake standing up, reaching out to once more hold her friend's shoulders, and then said, "I want you to understand something. I can't _make_ you do anything, because in the end, it's your choice, but I want you to understand this." Weiss brought herself to look into her unlikely confidant's eyes, finding the strong spirit of someone with a clear goal in mind. She was trying to help. Blake continued, "Weiss, at the end of the day, you have your life. It is the only life you have, and the only one you're going to get. Are you going to willingly give it up for your Father, and the furtherment of a company that you won't even get to participate in?"

More tears welled up in Weiss's eyes, and she said, "Blake, you just don't understand…I can't just _revolt_ against him."

Blake gave an inquisitive stare, before asking the heiress, "What is stopping you?"

Blake felt the heiress take in a shaky breath through the palm that was resting on the other girl's shoulder, before Weiss said in an uncharacteristically small voice, "I…I don't think I'm strong enough…"

There was silence for a time. It broke the faunus's heart to see the girl who always acted so strong crumble so thoroughly. Soon, Blake said softly, earnestly, "And what about Ruby?"

Weiss's brow furrowed at that, and she spoke her confusion with, "What about her?"

"What if you tell Ruby about your feelings, and she reciprocates?" Weiss opens her mouth to speak, but Blake silences her with a hand, showing that she was not done speaking. She continued, "If she really does feel the same way, Weiss, do you think Ruby would just let you face your Father alone? Weiss, you know her, you are her best friend, so you must realize that if and when that happens, Ruby would be right there by you. Maybe…maybe you _aren't_ strong enough to stand up to your father, Weiss, but Ruby, with how stubborn, protective, and, dare I say, _loving_ she is, maybe you would have the strength to fight back, and live your own life."

Blake's voice died down, waiting for a response from the Heiress, who appeared to be mulling over the idea. Surely, the idea of Ruby standing up for her in front of her father was an odd one, and yet seemed surprisingly plausible. Still, though, unease like a lead weight still rested in her stomach. "Blake," she began, "I just…I just don't know."

Blake sighed, lowering her hands from Weiss's shoulders, and said, "Look, it's up to you whether or not you tell Ruby, but like I said, I want you to understand this. You only have this life, so how do you want to spend it, under your father's thumb, or in Ruby's arms?"

Weiss blushed lightly at how Blake finished her statement, as the images passed through her head. Would she rather live in the fear and unease she felt now, or try and find solace and peace in her partner. For the first time ever, Weiss truly entertained the idea of being with Ruby, and potentially having a life with her.

 _We could sleep like we've been the past two nights all the time, without shame. I could hold her, and she would do the same for me. She would protect me._

Another thought passed through her head, the notion that one of her most powerful fears, one that she had fostered ever since her mother died and Winter left for the military, could finally be done away with.

 _I…I would never be lonely again._

Weiss sighed, looking up at her close friend. It was funny, not too long ago, the very idea that she would be discussing matters of the heart with a faunus, and ex-White Fang at that, would be absolutely preposterous to Weiss, yet here she was. She couldn't help the smile that came to her face as she looked to Blake, and said simply, "Thank you, Blake."

Blake gave one of her ever-so-rare half smirks, before saying, "Anytime, Weiss." The two girls sat in contented silence for a few minutes so that it wasn't readily apparent that Weiss had been crying before walking out of the hideaway and back into the garden.

It wasn't long before Weiss wondered aloud, "I wonder what Yang and Ruby are doing?"

 **Ruby**

"Aaaahhh! Yang! What are you doing?!"

Yang was currently barreling down the hallway, towing her little sister along by her arm towards their dorm. "We are having a sister-sister talk, Rubes!" Yang shouted back toward Ruby as they came up to the dorm. Quickly passing her scroll over the scanner, Yang pulled Ruby into the room. Twisting her torso, Yang quite literally tossed her sister into the room by her arm.

Stumbling, Ruby did her best to right herself as she was thrown into her own dorm. Regaining her balance in the middle of the room, the redhead turned back to her sister and asked, "Ok, so why did you yank me all the way here _from the cafeteria?_ I bet you didn't even need to get anything!"

Yang followed her into the room, the door closing behind her with a soft click, and she smiled, "Yep, didn't need anything!" The older girl then walked over to her sister and poked her in the forehead with each of her next word, "But. We. Need. To. Talk."

Swatting away the offending hand, Ruby said, "About what, Yang?" wordlessly, Yang pushes Ruby towards one of the two beds to the left of the door. Ruby sits in her bed, the one closest to the center, as Weiss's replacement was simply pushed haphazardly against the far wall.

Yang places her hands on her hips, adopting what Ruby assumed was an authoritative stance, and said simply, "Talk." Ruby frowned in confusion at that. Yang simply held her stance for several uncomfortably quiet moments as Ruby squirmed in her place on the bed.

Eventually, when Ruby couldn't stand the silence any longer, and gave an awkward shrug and said, "About…?"

Yang huffed and let her arms and head go limp. After a moment she slammed her hand into her own face and held it there for a moment, then, with a sigh, her arm went limp again. She then said in an exasperated tone, "Oum, you are hopeless." At Ruby's further confused face, Yang threw her arms out towards her sister and shouted, "About Weiss, Ruby!"

Her statement had the opposite of the intended effect on Ruby, who shrugged and said, "What about her? You're being weird again, Yang."

 _I mean, what is she talking about? She can't possibly know that I have a crush on Weiss._

"You mean, other than the glaringly obvious fact that you have a crush on her?"

… _well crap…_

Slightly panicking, Ruby gave what she hoped desperately was a convincing grin and said, "Wh-what do you mean? I mean, pfff, I don't _like_ her!" Cursing her stutter, Ruby forced herself to meet her sister's eyes.

Yang had an unconvinced frown on her face which, coupled with a raised eyebrow, added up to spell Ruby's utter demise. Yang's words mirrored what her face had already said with, "Really?"

Ruby gave a defeated sigh and said, "How did you figure it out?" She shrunk in on herself, idly tugging on the ends of her cloak embarrassedly, only for her head to jerk up at the sound of Yang's laughter.

It wasn't even a chuckle either, but full-blown cackling. With a miffed expression on her face, Ruby asked angrily, "Hey, what's so funny?" When Yang continued to laugh, Ruby simply stood up and socked her in the arm. Somehow, that only made the blonde brawler laugh harder. Frowning, Ruby said, frustrated, "If you're just gonna laugh at me, then I'm going to leave."

When her big sister only continued to laugh, Ruby turned towards the door. She only made it a few steps before a hand grabbed her wrist. Turning around, she found Yang hunched over, one hand holding Ruby's wrist, the other holding her own stomach as she struggled to suppress her mirth. "S-sorry, sis, I'm just-hehe- just…you're just so dang oblivious!"

"What are you talking about?" Ruby pulled her arm out of Yang's grip and crossed her arms, and did her best to stand taller.

Yang finally seemed to be calming down, only to look up at Ruby. She saw the way she was standing, arms crossed, spine straight, and head held high, managed to stutter out, "Oh-oh Oum you're even standing like W-Weiss! HAHAHA!"

 _Aaaand, she's laughing again._

Ruby gave up trying to look dominant, sighing and sitting back down on her bed. She waited impatiently for her sister to calm herself. Once she did, Ruby asked again, "What do you mean I'm oblivious?"

Yang gave a few residual chuckles as she finally calmed. "It is just… _so_ obvious you have a crush on her." At Ruby's confused frown, Yang elaborated, "Ya know, all the little glances, how you always try and stay next to her…also how you zone out sometimes when you're looking at her..." She waited a moment as Ruby's eyes widened, before saying, "Seriously, Rubes, you practically drool sometimes."

Ruby was already embarrassed enough with the things Yang had said, and that last addition seemed to be the tipping point. Her face was burning crimson as she sputtered out, "I-I do not _drool_ over Weiss!"

Yang was suddenly in her face; the only thing in between them was a single finger that Yang was holding up. Without missing a beat, Yang said, "One! Time! You literally _drooled_ over her one time, and that's all the teasing ammo I need, lil' sis!"

Smacking her hand away and scooting to the side to make some space, Ruby said, "Ok, yeah, I do kinda like Weiss," at Yang's raised eyebrow, Ruby continued, "Ok, more than kinda. I really like her." Ruby buried her face in her hands out of embarrassment. She didn't know what else to do aside from hide her face in her hands.

Her head jerked back up, however, when Yang gave a single loud clap and then said, "Ok, now that we've got that out of the way, what are you gonna do about it?"

The redhead gave her sister a questioning look, confused, before realizing what exactly Yang was asking. "Uh, nothing? Yang, this is Weiss we are talking about."

That was not the answer Yang was expecting to hear. She said, "Nothing? Why not?" She seemed genuinely baffled by what her little sister had said.

"Yang, come on, you aren't dumb. Well, _that_ dumb. This is Weiss we're talking about. She's all…" Ruby waved her hands above her head for a second in some odd means of emphasis, "…high class, and stuff. There is no way she's gay." At her final statement, Ruby's hands flopped down into her lap once more.

Yang gave her little sister a disapproving look and folded her arms over her chest and said, "And what? Just because she's got money she can't like girls? Look Rubes, you know Weiss better than anyone, I'd say, so tell me, even with the social issues that would come with her being gay, is Weiss really the type of person to let other people tell her what to do?"

 _She…kinda has a point, but…_

Shaking her head, Ruby nervously rubbed the back of her neck and said, "Well…no, not really, but still. Even if she was, it doesn't matter. I'm all loud, and I bug her all the time, and…she just wouldn't like me like that. We're just friends, and that's…probably all we are gonna be."

Yang nodded understandingly, and said, "Ok, ok, so you accept the possibility of Weiss being gay."

 _Really,_ that's _what you got out of that?_

Unknowing of Ruby's thoughts, Yang continued, "So tell me, what is stopping you from telling her then?"

Frustrated, Ruby said, "Because she doesn't like me like that, Yang!"

"She let you sleep with her!" Yang threw her arms into the air before saying, "That's, like, second and a half base!"

"YANG I'M SERIOUS!"

"SO AM I"

Ruby opened her mouth to retort, but stopped when two hands roughly grabbed her shoulders, and Yang looked into Ruby's eyes, "Look, Ruby, you realize how alike Blake and Weiss are, right?" It was something that Ruby had noticed yes, which she blamed on their parallel backgrounds. "Look, it took me weeks before Blake let me sleep in the same bed as her. It's a trust thing, Ruby." Yang then took a step closer to her smaller sister, and cupped her cheeks in an almost motherly manner, and said, "You _know_ Weiss, little sister, so do you think she'd sleep with anyone that she _didn't_ like and trust, huh?"

There was some silence as Ruby contemplated this. Yang had made a good point. Now that she thinks of it, Ruby realized that Weiss never even let anyone touch her under normal circumstances, yet Weiss had hugged her in class yesterday, and not just the quick squeezes Ruby had gotten on occasion from the heiress before, but an actual, drawn-out hug. That's not even considering the fact that Weiss had been sleeping in the same bed as Ruby for the past two nights, and through this time when Weiss had been more touchy-feely with her, she'd realized something she had never thought of.

She _really_ liked having Weiss in her arms.

And Weiss seemed to feel similarly, even in her sleep, if the way that she always seemed to snuggle up to Ruby after they had both fallen to sleep was anything to go by.

 _Maybe…Weiss could like me back…_

"Y-Yang, I…you might have a point…" said Ruby. Her considerably normal knees were shaking as she stood there in front of her sister, who had a grin slowly growing on her face.

Soon, the silence was broken by a loud slap as Yang clapped Ruby on the back and said, "That-a girl! Now, what are you gonna do about it?"

Squirming and trying to reach back to rub the now sore spot on her back, Ruby considered her options.

 _Well, I could just wait it out and do nothing, and wait for her to make the first move, just to make sure she really does like me back, but then she might just not do it. Yeah, I don't think Weiss is gonna make the first step. I like her and all, but she's just not too great with emotional stuff. Well, then I guess I can only do one thing…_

"I-I…" Ruby inhaled, steeling herself, and continued, "I'm going to tell her…"

Yang gave a victorious laugh, and raised her arms excitedly into the air. "Whoo! Yes! Alrighty then, I'll make sure you guys have some privacy tonight!" She was already barging out of the room, even as Ruby turned to the door.

Just before it closed, Ruby yelled out in a panic, "Wait, tonight?!"

Heedless to the urgent question, Yang slammed the door closed, with a muffled cry of, "Don't forget to use protection!"

Catching what she had said, a furious blush came over Ruby's face, and she yelled into the now empty room, "Yang! Neither of us even has one of those!"

The sounds of shuffling and bustling filled the dorm as Ruby and Weiss sat on their respective beds, side-by-side as of yesterday, and Yang and Blake, the dual causes for the noise, prepared to leave for their date. Blake had dawned a simple deep violet dress and some relatively short high-heels, whereas Yang had an orange sundress with a brown leather jacket, similar to her usual one, on over it. Rather simple, but it served its purpose. Soon, Blake spoke up, "Yang, we should get going. It's six-thirty, our reservation is in an hour, and the flight to Vale takes at least ten minutes."

Yang nodded, and turned to the other two, saying, "Alright, you two have fun while we're out. Make good choices!" She said the last part as she walked out of the door. As the door was closing, she locked eyes with her little sister, simply giving a knowing wink before the door shut. Luckily, Weiss had already looked back to her book, and didn't see the wink, nor how Ruby's face lit up like a firework.

 _Alright, Ruby, you are going to tell Weiss how you feel. Tonight. Have I ever been this nervous? Nope. Am I gonna tell her anyway? Probably. But when should I?_

Looking over to her partner, who was deeply engrossed in her book, Ruby glanced over Weiss's form. They were both still in their normal clothes, but Weiss had kicked off her shoes as to not dirty her new bed. Without the calf-length boots covering her, Ruby noticed, if not for the first time, that Weiss had wonderful legs. To match everything else about her, of course.

 _Why not now?_

WIth the realization that she may as well get it out of the way, Ruby looked forward once more. Unknowingly, she began to squirm on her bed as she tried to work up the courage to tell Weiss what was on her mind, and also trying to figure out what exactly to say. Her mouth opened and closed several times as if she was a suffocating fish. Without her knowledge, Ruby attracted the attention of a certain white-haired Heiress, who was pulled out of her book on psychology in regards to romantic attraction by the sound of the blankets on her partner's bed rustling together obnoxiously.

"Ruby." The simple word said by Weiss may as well been a gunshot to Ruby who was lost in her own thoughts. Jerking ramrod straight in her bed, Ruby's head whipped around to meet her partner's confused eyes. "Are you...okay?" Weiss asked.

 _Well, here goes nothing._

"W-well, Weiss, the-there is something...something I need to tell you...I really...I mean-I just really...HAVETOGOTOTHEBATHROOMBERIGHTBACK!" Faster than Weiss could react, Ruby had launched out of her bed, not quite using her semblance, and dashed into the dorm bathroom. The door slammed shut behind the redheaded ball of panic. Silence filled the room. Wordlessly, and more than a little confused at the turn of events, Weiss looked back to her book.

"Odd."

 _Well, there went nothing._

Ruby sat in front of the mirror, simply staring herself down, and trying to understand how she could've failed _that_ spectacularly. Seriously, that was pretty ridiculous.

 _Come on, Ruby, it's not that complicated._

An image flashed through her mind, something she had seen in several movies, where a character is looking into a mirror and repeating a mantra.

 _Well, it can't hurt, can it? Practice makes perfect….I guess?_

"I like you, Weiss...I like you, Weiss...I like you, Weiss…", Ruby repeated into her own reflection. She took care not to say it loud enough that Weiss could hear it through the thin walls. Despite the content of her newly found mantra, Ruby felt herself slowly calming down, until the words were flowing off her lips like water. To Ruby's surprise, it was actually working.

At least, until Weiss knocked on the door.

The sudden, unexpected noise caused the redhead to jump, her hand flew to clamp over her own mouth with the double purpose of quieting her mantra and preventing her from shouting in fright. "Hello? Ruby? Are you ok? You've been in there for twenty minutes," Weiss said, to Ruby's surprise. Glancing at the small digital clock on the counter, she found Weiss's words to be true.

 _Holy crap, how did that happen?_

"U-uh, yeah, I'm fine!" Ruby shouted through the door, "Just...just finishing up!" Ruby quickly moved to turn on the faucet, and made like she was washing her hands. The silence on the other side of the door told Ruby that Weiss had left the door.

 _Ok, I guess that's enough practice. Go time._

Drying her hands, Ruby opened the door and walked back into the dorm. Fighting through her nervousness, Ruby did her best to walk normally back to her bed, and as it usually goes when one tries to consciously walk normally, she instead looked much like a robot as she walked over and then sat down on her bed. This was something that Weiss definitely noticed.

 _Alright now, how do I go about starting this conversation?_

Ruby opened her mouth to talk, but was cut off by her white-haired partner, who said, "Ruby, what is the matter?"

 _Well crap, looks like I don't need to start it after all._

"W-what do you mean?" Ruby asked, the stutter betraying her nerves.

Weiss let out a sigh, pinched the bridge of her nose, and said, "Ruby, don't play dumb. It obvious something is bugging you," She then looked up into Ruby's eyes, "You've been acting odd for the last few days, and even more so tonight," Now she was standing with a slightly cross look on her face, and got not-quite in Ruby's face, and said, more of commanded, "So, partner, what. Is. The. Matter."

Because of the proximity of Weiss's face to her own, Ruby couldn't help but admire her partner's features. The way it all formed so perfectly was definitely not helping the nervousness that seemed to be at its peak. Opening her mouth, the redhead tried to force some kind of words out of her mouth, "U-h...well...I-um...I just-I mean…" Letting out a huff of air, Ruby tried once more, except this time, she couldn't even bring herself to speak, instead choosing to bury her face in her hands.

 _Oh, great, now I look like an idiot._

Because she was unable to see, due to the location of her face, Ruby nearly fell off the bed in surprise as a hand fell onto her shoulder. Just barely managing to restrain herself, Ruby's head jerked up to look at her partner, and was shocked at what she found. Weiss had an unusually soft look in her eyes, and Ruby had known her for long enough to know that Weiss rarely enjoyed physical contact, and almost never incited it, yet here she was, doing her best to calm Ruby. She then said, "Ruby, it's alright, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Shaking her head, Ruby did her best to suppress her unease. Weiss's hand was definitely helping, but not by much. Ruby tried to meet Weiss's eyes, but couldn't quite bring herself to. Instead, she focused on her left shoulder, and said "I-It's not that I don't...trust you, Weiss, but...I dunno, I'm just...this isn't something normal, and I'm kinda…" very briefly, Ruby managed to glance up at Weiss's eyes, before looking back down, "...scared that...it might mess up our friendship…?" The ending came off as more of a question than anything, but Weiss seemed to understand her meaning.

The white haired girl let out a sigh, one hand coming up to rub across her own face briefly, before saying, "Look, Ruby, I...I know I don't say it enough, or ever, really, but I really do appreciate your company, and you are my be-b-bes...my friend," despite her inability to to really commit to that final declaration, Weiss pressed forward, "I won't judge you for whatever is bugging you, I promise."

Still, though, Ruby was still too uneasy to tell Weiss about her feelings. Squirming in her seat, Ruby said, "Still, though...it's...kinda big." Her hand ran nervously through her hair, a tight knot of insecurity sitting in the pit of her stomach.

Weiss seemed to struggle with herself for a moment, before reaching over and laying her hand over Ruby's. This immediately caught Ruby's full attention. She could feel the awkwardness radiating off of her white-haired partner at having to instigate what felt like intimate contact. An odd look entered her eye then, one Ruby recognized that Weiss occasionally used during their study sessions, a combination of that steely, determined gaze she frequently wore, but with a layer of softness that she reserved for moments like these somewhere mixed in. Weiss then said, "Ruby, do not worry...You...you are my partner, and I swear, I won't let whatever this is come between us."

Ruby felt that knot inside her begin to unravel, if only slightly. "You promise?" She asked, her voice a near-whisper.

Weiss gave a single firm nod, along with a brief, awkward squeeze of her fingers around Ruby's, and said "I promise."

 _Alright then, where do I start…_

"Ok...Weiss, I...Weiss you are...such a great person," she said, inwardly wincing at the awkward compliment, yet she pushed forward. Her hand pulled out of Weiss's so she could make some obscure hand gestures, unable to look Weiss in the face, and said, "Like, you pretend to be all cold and...mean, but, like, you really, really aren't like that! You just kinda...hide it from most people, but I see how you change around us, how you turn into this…" clenching her hands into fists, trying desperately to control her speech, Ruby pressed onward, "...this wonderful person! You care about people, and you have all these layers to you, and a few...a few you don't even show to Blake and Yang. But you...you show them to me…" Attempting to meet Weiss's eyes, Ruby only succeeded in locking eyes with her crush's cheekbones, "And that make me... _so happy_ that you trust me with that."

Even if she wasn't meeting her eyes, Ruby could see the blush on Weiss's face clear as day, which was only accentuated by the dumb-sounding, "O-oh," given off by Weiss.

"Just...like...I always knew I wanted to be your friend, Weiss, but recently…" the knot that tied her insides together suddenly seem to simultaneously freeze and tighten, almost making the leader want to vomit, but this needed to be said, "...Recently, I've been noticing things I haven't before. I-I mean, it's not like I _haven't_ noticed them before, but I just didn't _notice-notice them,_ ya know?" Not giving her partner any time to respond, she said, "Like...Weiss, you are my best friend. You know that, and the time we've spent has been just awesome, but now...I just, _see_ things I haven't before…" she felt herself trail off involuntarily, and silence ruled.

Weiss didn't like the silence. It didn't suit Ruby. Ruby was all about laughter and happiness, she shouldn't be this nervous wreck she was now. Seeking to get the ball rolling again, Weiss asked "Like what?"

Ruby suddenly threw her arms in the air, frustrated, and said, near yelled, "Just _stuff!_ Like how your hair looks at night, how warm you are when we we've slept together, how you like to cuddle while you're asleep, how pretty you look like, _all the time_ , and just, ugh! I mean, Weiss you're smart, a genius even, you probably put some of this together yourself, and I really, _really_ hope you aren't freaked out by this but…"

Ruby took a deep breath. If she could face down hordes of Grimm without blinking, and fight off trainfulls of terrorists calmly, she could do this. Even so, the cold lump of fear and nerves that she hadn't felt since her first field mission was prevalent.

 _Ok...moment of truth…_

Ruby's voice seemed to be constantly, involuntary raising in pitch the farther she got in her statement as she said, "Weiss, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I...I...I really, really like you," Ruby wrung her hands, and forced her way through, "And not...not as a friend. I really, really want us to be...more?"

Weiss sat completely still. The news shocked her, more than almost anything ever had. Seeking a reprieve from the overload of information and emotion running through her head, Weiss went to the one and only safe place she had in her head: Logical Thought. Thinking it through, there was only one thing she needed to make a decision in what could be one of the biggest moments of her life. One word was said then, in the tense silence that had filled the room. "Why?"

Ruby blinked dumbly. She expected several reactions, among them disgust, shock, anger, but not this...cold curiosity. Searching deep within herself, Ruby found the answer, or at least part of it, to Weiss simple question, "Well...because...because I know you, Weiss. I know you hurt, I know you cry, and I know you are scared of being alone. I just...I want to be there for you - _with_ you. I want to make you happy Weiss, that's all," Ruby let out a sigh, no small amount of despair pooling in the pit of her stomach, and she continued, "Look, I know this is a long shot, and I know you probably...probably don't like me the same way. You...you're an heiress. You are so smart, and...and confidant...and I'm just _me._ I know it probably won't work out, Weiss, but…" mustering all her willpower, Ruby brought her eyes up and met the turbulent blues with her own silver, feeling a small measure of determination flowing through her system with her final words, "...but I'd really love to try."

Weiss's face froze over in that way that it did when she was troubled, and silence ruled.

 **Weiss**

Troubled was putting it lightly. Very lightly. So lightly, in fact, it would be the equivalent of saying a Hydrogen Bomb detonating in the center Vale would be a "small incident". Her years of training in poise and etiquette allowed her to hide her emotions. Not locking them away, per say, but just hiding them from Ruby. From the outside (hopefully), Weiss looked completely calm. On the inside, however, there was a war of emotions going on.

 _Ruby...likes me...oh Oum…_

The thought sent a icy spear of fear through her heart. It was impossible. How could she? No, it was some trick, some kind of cruel joke Ruby was playing on her. No, no, Ruby wouldn't do that, and she looked so scared at the moment. Could what she said be true? Even more important, however, was another question:

 _Do...I feel the same?_

It was several minutes of silence in which Ruby continued to shift in discomfort in her spot on the bed, unsure of the situation. She looked to Weiss to be struggling with something, even if she only noticed on the outskirts of her awareness. Her full attention was grabbed, however, when Ruby started talking, saying, "L-look, I...I get it if...if you don't want that. Like I said, I k-knew it probably wasn't gonna work, and if you don't hate me for it...we can still be friends?" Her eyes began to redden, and look puffy.

 _Is she about to cry?!_

With her heartstrings twisted in a knot and somewhat startled by the implications of what was said, Weiss rapidly moved to calm the girl down, "Ruby, I don't hate you! Don't talk like that! It's just...it's a lot to process. I need to...work through it." Ruby would not cry. Not because of Weiss. At least, not if the heiress could help it.

Ruby rubbed one hand across her eye, and said, "Ok. I'm sorry that I k-keep messing up, it's just…" Ruby made an obscure motion with her hands, "You...your so _pretty_ and I don't know what to say half the time and this is like a million times worse and I'm going to _stop talking now!"_ Her voice had gradually raised in pitch until it was practically a squeek by the end. The soft redness that was appearing on her face only accentuated just how flustered the younger girl felt.

 _Oh lord, she is just adorable._

With Ruby sufficiently calm, and Weiss sporting a healthy redness to her cheeks, the heiress went back to deliberating.

 _Do I like her back?_

She thought back to the past few days, all the little things she's been seeing about Ruby. She certainly noticed that the younger girl was attractive, in a cute sort of way, and Weiss certainly felt some amount of endearment towards her partner's features, but that isn't what matters. Her feeling for the redhead, whether platonic or romantic, ran far deeper than mere looks. It was everything about her. All the little things she does, how sincere she is, the kindness she shows...if it was anyone, absolutely anyone, else, she would've shot the down faster than a Nevermore over an Atlesian Anti-Air emplacement. All her life, the only reason people even considered pretending to like Weiss was for her money, and for her power. She was painfully aware of that. Over the years, the Heiress has developed a healthy amount of cynicism. She wouldn't, and doesn't, let anyone that close to her heart. She would never consider it, like she was doing, with anyone else.

But it wasn't anyone else.

It was Ruby.

And that made all the difference.

In the last few months, and in recent days particularly, Ruby Rose had become synonymous with joy. She brought out a side of Weiss that she had forgotten existed. Even when Weiss pushed her away, brought up those frozen walls around her to keep the redhead out, Ruby kept going. She kept pushing, getting closer and closer to Weiss, until, with that wonderful warmth she held in her heart, she melted her way closer than anyone had ever been. She brought in happiness and purity, the likes of which the white-haired girl had never felt before, and did her best to give those gifts to Weiss. She had become closer than any single person or group of people ever had been in her life. Hell, she willingly shared a bed with Ruby. She couldn't even do that with her own sister! Yet there she was, last night, and the night before, finding not only sleep, but _comfort_ in the arms of her partner.

She then thought back to last night. That horrible, horrible nightmare hurt her. Why? Of course, seeing her friend and partner harmed as such would cause Weiss pain, but that felt like more than just pain. It was _torture_. She couldn't stand it, and when she was ripped out of her dream and rescued from that pain, Ruby was there. She was _there_. The redhead chased the nightmare away, chased the cold away, and, at Weiss's request, shared a bed with her again, and was happy about it. That little dolt did her job so well, in fact, the dream hadn't even crossed her mind until now. She couldn't help also recalling, however, that odd feeling she got when she woke up. It felt warm. A pleasant lightness in her chest that she has only ever felt in waking up wrapped in Ruby's embrace.

It was then that she realized, truly _realized_ , that Ruby was precious to her. She was dear to her in a way no one was. She felt an urge then, unlike any she had felt before. She wanted to be wrapped in Ruby's arms again. She wanted to hold the younger girl close. She wanted to protect her, and make her happy, and just _be there._ She felt it then, a small sprout to a seed that had been planted in her heart long before. She _did_ like Ruby back.

She _did_ want to be with Ruby.

 _But...does it matter?_

She then remember her place in this world. Her seat of power that she was meant to inherit, her responsibilities to her company...her...her…

...her _Father_.

That man who ruled over her, who controlled her, who met any form of resistance or protest with utter domination. He commanded her life. Did it really matter how she felt about Ruby? At the end of the day...Ruby had no money. She was of little renown. Even if she was male, or had the means to produce an heir, her father would never allow it. It wouldn't further the business. He would never allow Weiss's life, _his investment_ , to go fruitless. There wasn't any way she could rebel against that in any meaningful way. There wasn't any way she could spin the situation to favor Ruby, either. They simply could not be together. It was impossible. The thought almost made her nauseous.

 _No._

She remembered earlier. Her and Blake's talk in the alcove in the gardens. The things that Blake had said regarding Weiss's life. They came back to her now, all the things that were said, and, maybe for the first time, those words rang true inside her. This life was not her father's to control. It was the only one that Weiss would get. Whatever decision she made now would set the course for her life for who knows how long. Now she had to chose, to live her own life, or to give it to her father to use as he pleases.

 _No...this is_ my _life!_

Her eyes suddenly refocused, meeting Ruby's. She saw how nervous the young girl was, but also saw how sincere she was. She really did like Weiss, but would accept whatever decision Weiss made. She was beautiful like that. Opening her mouth to speak, Weiss broke their long-kept silence, "Ruby...it will be incredibly difficult. I have my own issues with being close to people, and I won't even begin with the plethora of issues with my father regarding relationships, and it may not work out, but…" She saw it then. That little bit of hope shine through Ruby's features, and she tried a facial expression she had never had to put on before. Surprisingly, it formed naturally: a warm, soft smile.

 _...and I'll be damned if Ruby isn't in it._

"I'd like to try as well."

What happened next, though, Weiss didn't entirely expect. To put it simply…

Ruby exploded.

 **Ruby**

Hearing those words come out of her partner's mouth was...was _heaven_. It felt like someone had simultaneously shoved an adrenaline shot into her heart and struck her with lighting all in that moment, and that exited, powerful energy burst out of her as she leapt up off of her bed, Weiss also jumping to her feet in surprise, and Ruby threw a single fist into the air with a shout, before taking off running. The excitement and relief all mixed together in one bundle that sent her semblance haywire, and she began prancing and jumping around the room in a whirlwind of excitement, shouting exclamations of joy all the while, headless to the cry of, "Ruby! Calm down!"

Although she did anything but, the cry was enough to grab her attention, and seeing her blushing, flustered, and undeniably gorgeous partner, Ruby was overcome with a sudden urge. Unable to resist, Ruby dived towards her partner, wrapping her arms around her in a hug. What she forgot to account for, however, was the momentum she was carrying, which set her and Weiss flying back onto the bed.

Her head slammed into the headboard, and she fell limp onto the heiress underneath her. Her aura protected her from any real damage, but the squirming beneath her was enough to make her remember the she fell _on top_ of someone. Fumbling to try and push herself up to give Weiss some breathing room, Ruby's hand clasped around something that was decidedly _not bed_ , and pushed herself up and pulled her knees upwards as well.

Then the door opened.

"Hey, Ruby! Forgot my wallet, we had to run ba- _DAMN!_ " was what Yang said as she barged back into the room. Confused at her sister's sudden response, and Blake's dumbfounded look, Ruby only then realized what this situation looked like to the outside observer. Here she was, straddling Weiss, holding her wrists above her head, all while lying on a bed that was covered in the roses created by her semblance, that also coated the room. That, combined with Yang's prior knowledge that Ruby planned on confessing to Weiss, made this situation seem decidedly more...lewd. "When you said you were gonna make your move," Yang began, "I thought you ment like ask her out, not _seduce her_!"

Blake let out a small chuckle at that, as Yang grabbed her wallet from the bookshelf by the door, and rushed out, leaving a blushing newly formed couple still in the room, heedless to the youngest girl's shout of "YAAAANG I was NOT 'seducing her'!" Rolling sideways and off of Weiss in her sudden panic to insure her partner didn't feel violated, Ruby fell right off the side of the bed, landing on the floor heavily with a grunt.

Rubbing her head, Ruby stared up at the ceiling for a moment, before her vision was filled with something entirely different and hundreds of times more pleasing to look at. Weiss peered over the edge of the bed and said "Are you alright, dolt?" Ruby, however, was completely incapable of speech. The curtains, which had been left open, let in the vivid orange light let off by the setting sun, which filtered through the Heiress's newly messied hair, as her sidetail had been knocked loose when Ruby tackled her. Her silver hair formed a perfect halo around the white-haired girl's head, surrounding the concerned look on that beautiful, beautiful face. If Ruby had hit her head any harder, she would've thought she was looking up at an angel. Her heart felt like it had been replaced with a jackhammer.

Completely in a daze, Ruby barely managed to say anything in response. A simple 'yes' would've sufficed. Her mouth seemed to have a mind of its own, however, as what she really said was, "Oum, you're beautiful...oh wait!" Her face felt almost on fire as she attempted to hide her shame in her hands.

She expected an awkward silence, for Weiss to simply ignore what was said. What actually happened, however, surprised Ruby, as she felt a soft, cool hand grab her own, and softly pulled it away. Looking up, wide eyed, at her partner, a soft noise of confusion slipped from her mouth. Weiss smiled then, actually _smiled_ , and said simply, "Thank you, Ruby."

Maybe it was just her, but Ruby felt she was thanking her for something more than the complement.

 **Later: Fluid Perspective**

The air in the room had quickly grown awkward, and Weiss eventually excused herself, going back to the book she had been reading earlier, and Ruby settled down on her own bed with her scroll and a notebook, and began working on one of Port's homework assignments. It went like this for roughly an hour and a half, and even though the two partners were holding up the illusion of being occupied, neither were really paying attention to what they were doing. Several times, one of them tried to bring up the courage to broach the topic of what had been discussed earlier, yet there was a mutual feeling of unease and awkwardness between the two that acted like a wall between them. Even the few words that has been exchanged felt forced and odd.

Eventually, Weiss decided to give up on reading once she had read the same paragraph four times in a row, and still couldn't comprehend its meaning. She looked over to her partner, noting that Ruby hadn't written anything for several minutes. Trying to come up with something to hopefully spark a conversation, the heiress said, "I don't suppose Yang or Blake told you when they would be getting back?"

Ruby pulled herself out of her thoughts in order to answer her partner and said, "No, she didn't. It's getting late, though. You wanna wait for them before we go to sleep?" The mood was awkward, and Ruby's words sounded forced, but it was better than the silence that was there before.

Weiss thought for a moment, and said, "Well, if we don't, they will just wake us up when they barge in. Blake may be quiet, but your sister is about as stealthy as a pregnant walrus." The jab at Yang did its job, bringing some light laughter from the younger girl. Weiss couldn't help but smile at that sound. It seemed to fill her with warmth. Like the tinkling of bells. Speaking of bells, their joy was quickly cut off by the chime of Ruby's scroll.

Ruby glanced over to where she had left it. An image of her sister was flashing on the screen, with the "One New Message" alert underneath. Grabbing her scroll, the fifteen year old tapped the icon, and read the message that now dominated her screen.

 _Yang: Hey, me and Blakey aren't gonna be coming back to the dorm tonight. We're gonna stay at a hotel and do UNSPEAKABLE things to each other. Don't do anything I wouldn't do!_

Ruby's faced scrunched up in disgust, and she typed out a quick, " _Ew, TMI,"_ and put up her scroll, and turned to her partner. "Yang and Blake aren't coming back tonight. Also, Yang is gross," Ruby said to her partner.

Weiss made a small sound of acknowledgment, and said, "So I guess we have the room all to ourselves tonight." Ruby didn't say anything, and the room fell into silence once more. Weiss fidgeted in her spot unintentionally. She knew they needed to talk, but she just couldn't bring herself to bring it up. It felt almost _wrong_ to talk about

 _Come on, Ruby, bring it up. Please. Don't make me start this..._

Ruby was having similar thoughts. She knew something needed to be said, but it felt so _weird_ to talk about this. Even more so, however, was that fear that if she didn't say anything, Weiss would change her mind. Technically, they never finalized what their relationship was, and the redhead was deathly afraid that Weiss didn't actually want to be with her. She used that fear as a fuel to for the word that needed to be said, saying, "Weiss...what are we?"

Weiss's head snapped towards her partner. Had Ruby _read her mind?_ Weiss immediately shot down that line of thinking, and responded, "What do you mean?" Weiss knew what Ruby was alluding to, of course, buts he needed to hear her say it.

Ruby shrugged and said, "Like, earlier you said...I said that I like you more than, like, a f-friend, and that I want," they both were red to the face at this point, unused to the emotions they were currently experiencing, "to be...together...with you, a-and then you said you wanted to try, too, but…" Ruby made a vague confused motion with her hands, and continued, "We never actually, ya know, said what we...what we were now. Like, we were friends before, but now we're more than that, I...think?" She then locked eyes with Weiss, unsure silver meeting conflicted blue, and finished with, "I know w-what I want, but it's...it's up to you." Ruby could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she waited for her crush to say her peace.

Weiss was silent for a minute. She thought over everything again, making sure that this was what she thought was best, and truly, truly, it was. She reconsidered the potential consequences, both positive and negative, for her chosen course of action, the image of her Father flashing briefly through her mind, and came to the same conclusion. Surely, Ruby would allow her to back out, she was always so kind and considerate. Coming to a decision, the heiress thought out her words, but was overcome with an odd urge. Praying it was appropriate, she rose up out of her seat, and walked the short distance to Ruby's bed while the younger girl watched on in confusion. Seating herself next to Ruby, Weiss looked her in the eyes for a moment and then leaned over, wrapping her arms around the younger girl. Ruby stiffened and froze for several seconds. Weiss's heart was pounding in her chest so hard she feared that Ruby could feel it all while erant thoughts rushed through her head.

 _No, this is bad, I shouldn't have hugged her, this is probably really weird and awkward and...oh…_

Her worry disappeared as Ruby suddenly returned the embrace, leaning into the white-haired girl and wrapping her arms around her. A soft fluttering feeling tumbled through Weiss's stomach as she felt Ruby's warmth, which was only enhanced as Ruby tucked her face into Weiss's shoulder. It was indescribable, and no matter how hard she tried, Weiss couldn't figure out _why_ she loved holding, and being held by, her partner, but she knew she did. As much as Weiss knew she would enjoy just staying like this all night, there were things that needed to be said. Turning her head slightly so her words wouldn't be muffled by Ruby's shoulder, she said, "Well...I think I like you, Ruby, as m-more than a friend, I mean. So, if you do too, I think...I'd like for us to be...together." Pulling back enough to look her partner in the eyes, resting her hands on Ruby's shoulders, and asked, "You do want that too, right?" She winced internally as how awkward that sounded, but it was too late now.

It was only a second before Ruby smiled a small, awkward smile and said, "I'd like that. I'd like that _alot_ , Weiss…" Hearing that, Weiss felt those butterflies in her stomach go into a frenzy, filling her up to the point that it was touching more than her stomach, seemingly flowing through all of her body.

 _Well, I guess we should make it official then._

Weiss couldn't help the uneasy smile that formed on her face, and said, "Ok then...so, earlier, you told me why you wanted to be with me, but I never got a chance to tell you my side,"she began, her heart pounding in he chest and a blush reaching her neck, "Please stop me if I sound strange, because I really have no experience here." Weiss sighed, and mustered up the courage to continue with her side of the confession, "You are...such a kind an sweet girl, Ruby. You bring out parts of me that I had forgotten I had. I just...Ruby, for the longest time, I had no one," she then looked into her partner's eyes, "But then...you quite litterally stumbled into my life" that got a small laugh from Ruby, "For _so_ long, all I knew was loneliness, but you chased that away. These past few months have been the best in my life. You are my b-best friend, Ruby, and now...we can be more. I like you, Ruby, as in, romantically, although I suppose that's a bit redundant at this point." Weiss then sighed, giving what she hoped was an earnest look to her red-haired partner, and said, "And, with that said, I guess I have one last question for you." The heiress moved her hands from her partners shoulders and took Ruby's hands in hers. Even through at this point, it was merely a formality, the act she was about to commit to, and the words she was about to say was almost too much to bear. The heiress found herself at a loss for words, and found her eyes locked onto their linked hands. She was unable to speak, no matter how hard she tried, but the she felt both the hands she was holding squeeze hers. Looking up to the owner of those hands, she met Ruby's eyes. The younger girl showed a small, reassuring smile that sent Weiss's heart fluttering.

 _I shouldn't be nervous. This is Ruby the same kind, sweet, adorable girl that I've known for so long now. I can do this._

Suddenly empowered by the support being given by Ruby, all seemed right in the world. That roaring fluttering in her stomach calmed significantly, and Weiss knew what she had to say. Feeling a smile tugging at the corners of her lips once again, she said that only thing that came to mind, "Ruby Rose," she began, giving Ruby's hands another squeeze, "will you be my Girlfriend?"

Ruby's heart skipped a beat at the word 'girlfriend', and she couldn't fight that ear-to-ear grin that came with the question asked to her. Knowing that she had to say _something_ , and with Weiss's recent confession empowering her, Ruby answered, "I...I would love to, Weiss." The two girls had matching gentle blushes, and the redhead knew what she had to do. Leaning forward, she wrapped Weiss in a hug once more, loving the feeling of having her new _girlfriend_ in her arms.

They would stay like that for several minutes, reveling in the joy of being together, before pulling away. It was odd, but Weiss immediately felt like hugging the younger girl again. It was like all those feeling she had been suppressing over the past few days suddenly multiplied to unmanageable amounts, yet no matter how hard she tried, Weiss could not begin to see these feelings of wanting to be close to Ruby in a negative light. She was pulled from her thoughts, however, when Ruby gave a delighted hum, and said simply, "Girlfriends. I like the sound of that."

Weiss couldn't help the honest smile that came across her face. Surely, if she wanted to, she could suppress it and hold her face behind an invisible mask like she frequently did, but, she realized, she _really_ didn't want to. "I like it, too," Weiss said. The silence quickly grew awkward, and Ruby began looking around the room. Her wandering eyes stilled for a moment before widening. "Woah," she began, "It's getting late!" Confused, Weiss followed the redhead's gaze, which was pointed at the small digital clock on the bookshelf against the far wall.

Surely enough, it was approaching nine o'clock. Weiss gave a thoughtful hum, and said, "Yes, it is. I don't know about you, but after the...eventful day we've had, I think I need some sleep." She stood up from her seat on the bed, and Ruby followed suit.

Ruby gave an exaggerated yawn and stretched upward. Her words sounded strained as she talked through her yawn, "Yeah, me too," dropping her arms down, she continued, "Usually I'd try and get you to stay up later, but after today...I'm pooped."

They made short work of getting changed, Weiss moving to the bathroom and Ruby just changing in the empty dorm. As Weiss finished putting all her clothes in the hamper, her mind was preoccupied with thoughts of all that had occurred today, from her conversation with Blake, to Ruby's confession, to her acceptance of said confession, her own confession, to thoughts of the future, and what it would mean for her in the long run. Her mind was so preoccupied, in fact, that she thoughtlessly opened the bathroom door and stepped into the dorm without checking to see if Ruby had finished changing. As she stepped out of the bathroom, Ruby was still pulling her shirt over her head, and Weiss got an eyeful of Ruby's front. Thankfully, Ruby had not taken off her bra yet, but still, Weiss couldn't help her eyes darting up and down her partner, taking in all the slender, toned muscles that the redhead had formed from years of training with Crescent Rose within the span of a second, and only one thought came through her head that wasn't immediately vulgar or decidedly homosexual as she bolted back into the bathroom.

 _Oh what fresh hell is this?!_

Ruby, on the other hand, wasn't sure exactly what was happening, as her eyes were currently covered by the shirt she was pulling on. All she knew was that a door had opened, followed shortly by an "Eep!" that sounded suspiciously like her girlfriend, and then the slamming of the bathroom door. Quickly tugging the shirt down the rest of the way, Ruby could see nothing wrong with the rest of the room. At least, until a voice rang out from inside the bathroom, sounding about as panicked as Ruby had ever heard the heiress, "I am so sorry, Ruby, I was not thinking and I just walked in and I didn't mean to see you like that and-"

The redhead decided, however cute it was to see her girlfriend as flustered as she was now, she should probably calm her down. Ruby cut her off with, "Hey, hey, hey, it's okay, it was an accident, Weiss, it's fine, really!" There was silence on the other side of the door for a moment, and then slowly, the door opened. Weiss stepped out, still clearly embarrassed, as her pale skin clearly telegraphed the blush that looked almost neon on her cheeks. Ruby felt her heart flutter at the sight.

 _Oum, she can be cute when she wants to...or, doesn't want to, now that I think of it._

Weiss cleared her throat awkwardly and said, "We...should be getting to bed."

Ruby nodded, and said, "Yeah. Get the lights?" Weiss, eager to get out of the odd and embarrassing situation, walked over to the light switch and waited for Ruby to get under her covers. After a few seconds, Weiss flicked off the lights, plunging the room into darkness. She waited a moment for her eyes to adjust to the change before fumbling through the dark to her bed. She climbed under her own covers, wincing as the cold sheets came in contact with the bare skin of her legs and arms. She rolled around in discomfort for a few moments, her mind flashing back to the previous night. She had felt this same cold, and it lead to a horrible nightmare that she had suffered through until Ruby had awoken her, and chased the cold and the fear away. She felt a small amount of dread clench in her gut as she thought of the potential of having another nightmare.

 _Wait...what if...no, no, that's stupid. I shouldn't inconvenience her._

They were...girlfriends now. It wouldn't be _that_ odd of a request, right? She wouldn't be asking for much, just a place next to the redhead for the night. She couldn't help feeling dumb for considering asking Ruby to sleep together, but she didn't see any other option other than suffering through the night. No, it wouldn't be right, especially after walking in on the younger girl changing. She didn't need someone else to help her sleep, though that want was still there. Weiss felt terrible at the moment for a variety of reasons, chief of which were how uncomfortable her bed felt and the weakness she felt in her indecision. She was pulled from this mental war by a quiet voice from her left, "Weiss?"

There was quiet for a moment before Weiss turned over to look at her partner. She could see almost nothing but the silver of her eyes. "What?" she said, attempting to chase whatever weakness there was in her from her voice. She winced at how harsh she sounded, not intending to sound so rude. "Sorry, I'm just...sorry. You are my...girlfriend...now, and I should try to be nicer to you, so, sorry." It sounded painfully awkward, and her chest fluttered when she said 'girlfriend', but it seemed to get the message across.

Ruby was quiet for a moment, then said, "Nah, it's fine Weiss. I like you for you, you don't need to change for me. Anyway, that's not what I wanted to say." Ruby sat up and twisted herself to face her partner as Weiss looked on in confusion. The redhead then said, "You're just, like, shuffling around a lot, and you don't seem very comfortable."

 _Curse this girl's observation skills._

Weiss remained reclined on her own bed and, after a beat of silence, said, "What of it?"

Ruby rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly as she worked out her next words in her head. She then said, "Well, yesterday you had that nightmare, and it shook you up pretty bad, but you s-seemed a lot more comfortable when I was o-over there, ans we _are_ gir-girlfriends now, so…"

The room was silent for several seconds as Weiss pondered the roundabout question. After a moment, Weiss said, "Are you asking if you can sleep with me?"

Ruby couldn't help but shiver at that. The way Weiss had said that was so cold that it felt as if the room had actually dropped in temperature, and left Ruby feeling guilty as if she had done something wrong. This feeling was only accentuated as Ruby replied, "I-I mean...kinda, yeah." Weiss's only response was to stare blankly at the redhead before wordlessly turning over to face away from Ruby.

 _Oh, crap, she's mad at me now. Oh no, no, no, don't be mad, Weiss it was only a question!_

However, after a few moments of Ruby being terrified, Weiss scooted to the edge of her bed and wordlessly lifted one end of her covers invitingly. Ruby would've been a fool to turn down an invitation like that, and she practically dove into the offered spot.

Weiss almost sighed when Ruby joined her in bed. The cold she had feared, both inside herself and under the blankets, seemed to be chased away by the warmth of the other girl. Only because she was facing away from Ruby and knew the younger girl couldn't see her face, Weiss allowed a small, honest smile to come across her face. She felt at peace.

At least, until she put together that she had just openly invited _Ruby Rose_ into her bed. She felt those urges she had been suppressing all week rush back to her in a flood. That powerful urge to take the other girl in her arms, to shove her face into Ruby's neck, to intertwine their legs...

 _Holy crap, this isn't happening. Oh my dust this is so embarrassing. She probably thinks I'm a little girl now, oh no. I can't do any of that, this is horrible._

Ruby, who was pressed side-to-side with Weiss thanks to the size of the twin bed, noticed immediately when the heiress suddenly stiffened up. The redhead was unsure of what to do, and simply continued to lie there, hoping beyond hope that Weiss would stop being a wooden plank soon. After nearly five minutes of the new couple lying side by side unmoving, Ruby forced herself to say something, "Hey, uh, Weiss, if you aren't really...ya know...comfortable sleeping together I can go ba-"

At the thought of having to spend the night alone again, a jolt of adrenaline shot into Weiss's system, and, to her own mortification, she suddenly rolled over and almost shouted, "No!" cutting off her partner. Her cheeks glowing red, Weiss palmed her face, groaning in embarrassment, and said, "I mean, Ruby it's not that...just…" She made several vague hand motions as she searched for words to convey the complex emotions currently affecting her.

Ruby rested a hand on Weiss's shoulder, something she remembered Yang doing whenever she was upset, and said, "Hey, hey, Weiss, it's okay. Take your time. We are g-girlfriends now, right? That means we support each other, ok? I'm here, so just say it when you're ready."

The heiress looked into her girlfriend's eyes, searching for any sign of misdirection, but finding only comfort. Finally finding her words, she said, "I just...I keep having all these odd urges whenever I'm around you, and now we are in bed together and they just got so much stronger and...I don't know how to deal with them." Weiss said this earnestly, doing her best to convey her issue to Ruby.

Sadly, her girlfriend took the confession in a completely different manner.

 _Wait, she's having weird urges that get a lot stronger when she's in bed with me?! Oh_ no! _Does she mean like…_

With a crimson blush on her cheeks that was _almost_ visible in the dim lighting, Ruby asked, "W-wait, do you mean like," her voice dropped to a whisper, despite them being alone in the room, and said the next part in the only way she could think of that didn't sound _too_ indecent, " _baby-making stuff?"_

An undignified sputtering sound came from Weiss's mouth at that, and blood rushed to her face. Now that she thought about it, her confession did sound suspiciously sexual, but that certainly didn't stop her from smacking her hand into the top of her girlfriend's head and saying, "Dolt! Of course that's not what I meant!"

Ruby frowned and rubbed the crown of her head, saying, "Hey, it's not my fault, you were the one who said you were having weird urges about me in bed!" Her pout was almost audible in the dark room.

"You know that's not what I meant!"

"Evidently not!"

Blushing and incredibly embarrassed, Weiss acted on a whim and placed her hand onto her girlfriend's shoulder, and said, "Ruby, that isn't what I meant. I don't think I'll be ready for _that_ for a long time. What I was saying, before I was rudely interrupted by your lewd mind, was…" she trailed off, at a loss for words.

They had been partners for a long time now, long enough for Ruby to feel that the heiress was distressed. "Hey, hey, look," Ruby began, "You don't _need_ to tell me if you don't want to, but I'm your girlfriend now, so I'm here if you want to tell me." The redhead felt unnecessarily pleased with herself it saying 'girlfriend' without a stutter.

Weiss was touched. Ruby was just so earnest and accepting, such a far cry from what she had been subjected to all her life, but, she supposed, she shouldn't be surprised. Ruby seemed to have a knack for showing Weiss the better side of the world. Weiss shook her head, both clearing the warm thoughts that were fogging up her mind and denying Ruby's offer of privacy, saying, "No, no, I need to say this. Get it off my chest. I just...I have these urges to do all these odd things with you that I don't understand. It...it feels like…" she groaned then, burying her face in her hands, then said, "I don't even know."

Ruby frowned. Weiss wasn't supposed to be stressed. The heiress that Ruby knew was beautiful, both on the outside, and underneath that icy shell she buried herself in. Ruby couldn't in good conscience allow her to be this uncomfortable "Hey," she began, fear clenching in her gut as she tried something that felt significantly more bold than anything she'd done with Weiss before. Reaching forward, Ruby softly brushed one of her hands against her girlfriend's cheek, pulling the heiress's eyes up so meet hers, and continued, "I'm in bed with you because of you, Weiss. I came over here because I wanted you to be comfortable. If you can't tell me what's the matter," Ruby scooted forward some, getting slightly into Weiss's personal space, "then _show me_."

Weiss felt her breath hitch at the offer. It was heartwarming to know that Ruby really cared about her comfort that much. Her attention was pulled away from her thoughts, though, when Ruby awkwardly coughed and said, "Just...hands above the waist." The heiress blushed and punched the younger girl in the shoulder, knowing the comment was in jest.

Ruby smiled.

Even in the darkness of the room, Weiss could see Ruby's smile, and what she could not see, she could _feel_. Those urges seemed to multiply, but dull at the same time, like they were fading into the back of her mind for a moment.

 _Gosh, I really do like this dolt, don't I._

Weiss took Ruby's hand in hers, and said, "I just...I really...the past two nights, when we've slept together, we always seem to wake up all tangled up, and I just get this really warm feeling inside me whenever that happens. I guess...I want that, maybe? I just don't know…" Her face felt hot as she stumbled her way through her confession. It all just seemed to weird to say, and Weiss wasn't even sure if what she wanted came across through the roundabout request.

Ruby raised an eyebrow as she pondered what Weiss had said. She thought she understood what Weiss wanted, but didn't feel sure enough to directly act on it. "Here, Weiss, how about this," she said, finding a good middle ground, "I'm here, okay. Just do whatever feels comfortable. I think I get what you're saying, but I need you to start it." Ruby then squeezed Weiss's hand tightly, and tugged her closer.

"Alright...whatever is comfortable…" Weiss said unsurely. As uncomfortable she felt taking the lead now, she knew one thing above all else.

 _Ruby would never judge me unfairly. She's too kind for that._

"Well, then...I'm not too sure about this so if this is strange, just...just stop me, okay?" after receiving a nod from the younger girl, Weiss hesitantly closed the distance between them. She could feel the warmth radiating off of the redhead, and it made her heart pound, but she found it was a rather pleasant sensation. Releasing Ruby's hand, Weiss then moved her arms to the other girl's shoulders, draping them oddly around Ruby's neck. She found herself at a dead end, unsure of what to do next as she simply lie still on the bed, and looked into Ruby's eyes. Feeling rather dumb for not knowing what to do next, Weiss couldn't help the blush that came to her cheeks in a combination of warmth and embarrassment. She simply had no experience with this type of contact, and the lack of knowledge was incredibly frustrating for the seventeen year old. They were so close, that when Ruby laughed, Weiss could feel in bubbling through her chest even before the redhead's laugh was audible.

Ruby couldn't help but laugh, even if it was at her partner's expense. She understood, of course. With what Weiss had told her of her past, she knew that all Weiss knew was formalities and loneliness before Beacon, so she couldn't blame her. She could see the heiress's glare even in the darkness of the room, so she suppressed the laughter, which quickly died into slight giggles. Yes, even if it was due to some decidedly negative reasons, Weiss's lack of experience here was undeniably _cute._

 _Good thing for both of us, Weiss, but I have lots of knowledge about this, thanks to Yang._

Just a few hours beforehand, Ruby could barely talk to the white-haired girl about being anything more than friends, but now that things were sealed, Ruby found a strange confidence in being with Weiss. This was finally her chance to make all those hopes and dreams a reality. She was determined to make this perfect. Speaking through her chuckles, Ruby said, "Aw, Weiss, you only had to say so if you just wanted to cuddle."

Weiss gave an indignant scoff at that and said, "Ruby Rose, I do not _cuddle._ I am not some child. I simply enjoy being held by...my...girlfriend...wow, that does not sound much better, does it?" Weiss's embarrassment and unsurity slowly began to fade as she felt Ruby take control.

"Well, lucky for the both of us, I know just how to do this," Ruby said. Within moment, she had pulled the heiress close to her, wrapping her arms around her hips and intertwining their legs. Ruby smiled, feeling an odd security holding Weiss that she had never felt elsewhere. She decided then and there, this was now her new favourite thing.

Weiss smiled. It's was an honest smile, the kind you only held when there was no one around to see. She felt nice. She could feel Ruby's hands on her back, pulling her close and that secure grip that she had been silently craving for the past two days. She then realized something then, the origins of that warmth spreading throughout her body. She could finally tell what it was. That feeling that she hadn't _truly_ felt since her early childhood.

 _Home._

She felt safe here. She felt secure, appreciated, happy, and, dare she say, _careless_ here. Not at Beacon, not _quite_ in Team RWBY, but here, in Ruby's arms. She knew then, for sure, that she had made the right choice in accepting Ruby's confession. Ruby Rose was her best friend, her partner, and now, her Girlfriend. This girl had brought out parts of her she had forgotten existed. Whatever hardships may come, she knew she could weather any storm, perhaps even her Father's judgment, so long as she had this girl next to her.

Ruby Rose was _home._

Weiss smiled once more, and finally let her inhibitions go. Earnestly. She squeezed Ruby's neck. Leaning forward, she acted on instinct and vague memories of something her mother used to do for her as a child. With her heart hammering in her chest so hard she was sure Ruby could feel it, Weiss leaned forward, and planted a single, chaste kiss to Ruby's cheek. She felt the smooth skin of the younger girl against her lips, and her heart skipped a beat. She made a commitment then and there to herself that she would never allow harm to come to Ruby. She would protect her, and stand by her. She was just as beautiful as the gem she was named after, and a thousand times more precious, and Weiss could feel that. Pulling her lips away from the girl, Weiss said simply, "Good night, Ruby."

Ruby froze instantly when she felt Weiss kiss her cheek, but as soon as she felt the heiress pull back, and heard those words spoken with so much emotion hidden behind them, she couldn't help the grin that split her face then, accompanied by a giddy lightness in her chest. Allowing that joy to take hold of her, Ruby leaned in, closing the distance between them and kissing her partner's smooth, cool cheek. Squeezing her close and curling around her, Ruby then responded, "Good night, Weiss."

Feeling one another's warmth and joy, the two made some slight adjustments, and then slowly faded into blissful sleep in each other's arms. In that moment, loneliness seemed but a distant memory to Weiss, and Ruby was the one responsible.

And the two slept peacefully through the night

Unbeknownst to either of them, the seeds were planted in that night that would grow and flourish through the next year's of their life, guiding the pair through hardships and joys alike. Maybe one day, they would even dare to call it Love. Only time will tell.

And, to think, it was all started thanks to Fate, Frayed Rope, and (Gay) Feelings.

 **A/N**

 **Well, that is the end of this story, my faithful readers. I completely plan on writing a sequel, even if it is only a one-shot. If all goes to plan, I want to completely explore these two's relationship. If this is something you are interested in, keep me in mind. I already have plenty of ideas for future installments, so strap in, it's gonna be wild.**

 **Also, remember, a review is worth a thousand Favourites.**

 **This is your friendly neighborhood Cultist, signing out for now,**

 **Metimesthree/RWBY_Order_Of_The_OTP out.**


End file.
